Trump admin marks two years since embassy move to Jerusalem - WATCH
The embassy has released a video in which Israelis speak of what the move meant to them.
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDSPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with US Vice President Mike Pence at the US Embassy in Jerusalem(photo credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)
Two years on from the historic unveiling of the American Embassy in Jerusalem, Israelis who were there have spoken of what it meant to them, to be there on "a day on which America yet again led the world in standing for freedom, for peace, and for the undeniable truth of Jerusalem's ancient connection and modern centrality to the people of Israel as their eternal capital," as US Ambassador to Israel, David M. Friedman put it.A short video released by the US Embassy in Jerusalem recalls the opening of the embassy, interspersing footage of the unveiling event with testimony from holocaust survivors, religious leaders and soldiers alike."Two years ago today on May 14, 2018, at 4 p.m., 70 years to the date and the hour that David Ben-Gurion declared Israel's independence, the United States moved its embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel's holy capital city," Friedman comments. "That day will always remain with me as one of the greatest of my life. A day on which President Trump kept a promise to the Jewish people and to many tens of millions of Americans who support the State of Israel.""I fought four wars and hundreds of dangerous missions behind enemy lines to defend the state of Israel," recounts Maj Gen (Res.) Doron Almog, who was the first Israeli soldier on the ground in Entebbe in the infamous operation which freed 105 Israeli hostages."Fighting battles always raised the question: Who is fighting with you? Who is your friend? [The] United States brave decision to move the embassy, it's about strong partnership commitment of United States for Israel."And Holocaust survivor Irene Fuhrer spoke of the resonance that Jerusalem has for Jews suffering hardship and persecution, commenting: "They took us to Auschwitz. We lost everything that day. We thought the world went crazy. But we survived."We never thought that there will come a day where we'll see America put an embassy in Jerusalem. Seeing this gives us hope."
