Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller told reporters on Friday morning that the President-elect remains committed to moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from its current location in Tel Aviv.
Miller’s comments came after Trump’s intended nominee as U.S. ambassador to Israel, attorney David Friedman, said in a statement that he looks forward to working from “the U.S. embassy in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem.” Friedman’s remarks prompted questions about whether Trump would quickly act to move the embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, where it has remained through successive American administrations.
“This is a commitment that the President-elect made numerous times on the campaign trail and that he remains firmly committed to, and with Mr. Friedman joining the team obviously this is another like-minded individual who shares the same viewpoints,” Miller told reporters on a conference call.
He declined to provide further details on the timing, location and security considerations involved in moving the embassy to Jerusalem.
“I do not have at this time a schedule that I’m able to share about timing on that,” Miller said. “Since we just announced Mr. Friedman yesterday, we don’t have that yet, but as far as your other questions here and the other questions that we have here I’m sure will be answered in due time.”
An embassy move to Jerusalem, which holds sacred meaning for Israelis and Palestinians, would likely provoke backlash from Palestinians, and both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush made similar promises but backed away once elected.
