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Tuesday, October 31, 2006
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Last Two Embassies Move to Tel Aviv
Both El Salvador and Costa Rica, the last two bastions of political recognition
of Israel’s capital, have decided to move their embassies from Jerusalem to Tel
Aviv. They, like many other nations, succumbed to pressure from Arab and Moslem
nations which refuse to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital or deal with
countries who do.
The move leaves Jerusalem with no embassies.
Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez said the decision is not an unfriendly
step toward Israel but is intended to fix a “historical mistake” that isolated
Costa Rica from the Arab and Moslem world. He said the move was not a protest
against Israeli actions in Lebanon or vis-à-vis the Palestinians.
“As far as I’m concerned, Israel’s right to exist free of any security threat,
especially terrorism, is not in doubt,” Sanchez said. “This is not a step
intended to hurt Israel, but a step intended to honor international law.”
In 1982, then President of Costa Rica, Luis Alberto Monge, moved the embassy to
Jerusalem to symbolize his friendship toward the Jewish state. A week after
Costa Rica moved its embassy, El Salvador decided to follow suit, despite
Israeli pressure to keep the Central American nation in Jerusalem.
Salvadoran President Antonio Saka is the son of Palestinian immigrants, who
moved to El Salvador from Beit Jala near Bethlehem at the beginning of the 20th
century. Nevertheless, he is regarded as a friend of Israel. The move of the two
embassies to Tel Aviv underscores Arab political power and its far-reaching
influence around the world.
(More in israel today from October 2006)
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