Vice President Mike Pence vowed that the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem will open in 2019 in a Monday speech before Israel’s legislative body.
“In the weeks ahead, our administration will advance its plan to open the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem — and that the United States embassy will open before the end of next year,” Pence declared. Pence’s speech follows President Donald Trump’s December decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and formally begin the process of moving the embassy from Tel Aviv.
An honor to be in Israel w/ Prime Minister @netanyahu. Important discussions about the opportunity for peace in the region and the security & prosperity of both Israel & the U.S. We continue to work tirelessly to strengthen the relationship between the U.S & Israel. #VPinIsrael pic.twitter.com/p9WCU99Mnr
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) January 22, 2018
DONALD TRUMP AND MIKE PENCE BECOME THE FIRST WORLD LEADERS TO PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE JERUSALEM AS ISRAELI CAPITAL
“Mr. Vice President, I’ve had the privilege over the years of standing here with hundreds of world leaders and welcome them, all of them to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Pence, adding “this is the first time that I stand here where both leaders can say those three words.”
The U.S. congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act in 1995, but presidents were allowed to issue waivers for national security reasons if they saw fit. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all vowed to move the embassy to Jerusalem.