Donald Trump’s announcement that he will recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has drawn a polarised reaction from Jewish Americans.

“President Trump. You Promised. You Delivered,” reads a full page advert prepared by the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) for Thursday’s New York Times. “History will honor you as one of Israel’s greatest friends.” The ad contains a photo of Trump, wearing a black kippah, placing his hand on the Western Wall in Jerusalem during a visit in May.

It says: “Time after time, President Trump has sent an unambiguous message to the world: the bond between the US and Israel is strong, and after eight years of the Obama Administration, the days of daylight between our nations are over.”

Norm Coleman, national chairman of the RJC and former senator for Minnesota, said: “The president has delivered on another major campaign promise. President Trump is doing what he does so well: recognising the reality on the ground. No more false news – Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.”

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) joined the praise. “Aipac has always supported American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital city, and we commend President Trump’s momentous announcement and decision to initiate relocating the US embassy there,” it said.

“Importantly, relocating the embassy to Jerusalem does not in any way prejudge the outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, to include establishing two states for two peoples and resolving Palestinian claims to the eastern portion of the city and the disposition of holy places. Rather, this announcement acknowledges that Jerusalem will continue to be Israel’s capital as part of any conceivable final status agreement.”



But Trump – whose daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism ahead of her 2009 wedding to Jared Kushner – has made a habit of dividing Americans and the Jewish community is no exception.

J Street, a liberal advocacy group that favours a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, described it as “an unhelpful step with no tangible benefits, only serious risks”.

The group added: “Contradicting decades of bipartisan presidential policy, it does nothing to advance, and could seriously undermine, the administration’s stated commitment to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while potentially threatening Israel’s security and alienating Arab regional partners.

“With this announcement, the question of whether or not the waiver gets signed is a moot point. The act of recognizing Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem prior to a negotiated peace agreement will have the same damaging impact as an actual move of the embassy.”

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said the recognition of Jerusalem was “the right thing to do”. He has instructed the state department to develop a plan to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The president said he was prepared to support a two-state solution if agreed to by the parties.

But there was sharp criticism from some prominent rabbis in the US. Rabbi David Shneyer, founder and director of the Am Kolel Jewish Renewal Community of Greater Washington, said: “Given the sensitivities and what you can provoke, I don’t think a decision like this can be made by one individual, whether it’s the president of the United States or the creator of the universe.

“This kind of decision needs to be considered by a larger group of people. It can involve various players who are familiar with all the issues. It’s not a decision that can be taken lightly.”

Shneyer questioned the president’s motives. “Part of his history is to throw things out there to throw us off other issues that are sensitive. It’s a way of distracting us from the Russia probe.”

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of Union for Reform Judaism, said: “While we share the president’s belief that the US embassy should, at the right time, be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, we cannot support his decision to begin preparing that move now, absent a comprehensive plan for a peace process.

“Additionally, any relocation of the American embassy to West Jerusalem should be conceived and executed in the broader context reflecting Jerusalem’s status as a city holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.”

Democrats joined the condemnation. Ron Klein, a former congressman for Florida and chairman of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said Trump’s foreign policy so far had been “largely naive and haphazard”.

“As is typical with much of his rhetoric, today’s announcement is short on details and substance,” said Klein, who is currently visiting Israel. It is being issued in a vacuum, without context or consideration to many of the region’s most imminent issues impacting the vital national security interests of both the US and Israel.

“Unlike under Presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama, the current administration has neglected efforts to meaningfully support peace between Palestinians and Israelis. President Trump has abdicated America’s traditional role in the region and created a void that Russia is quickly and dangerously filling.”

He added, in a reference to reports that emerged soon after the firing of FBI director James Comey: “Also, his disclosure of sensitive Israeli intelligence to Russia greatly undermined Israel’s security, not to mention damaged our relationships with countless other allies.”

Independent senator Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish, also spoke out. He warned: “There’s a reason why all past US administrations have avoided making this move, and why leaders from all over the world, including a group of former Israeli ambassadors, have warned Trump against doing it: it would dramatically undermine the prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, and severely, perhaps irreparably, damage the United States’ ability to broker that peace.

“What the US should be doing now is bringing adversaries in the Middle East together to seek common solutions, not exacerbating tensions in this highly volatile region.”