DEMOCRATS TO PRESS BUSH ON MOVING THE EMBASSY. From the New York Sun:

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote next week on a resolution calling for President Bush to move the American Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, strengthening Israel's position against recurring diplomatic efforts to take away its capital.

The resolution, which passed the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on May 23, commemorates the 40th anniversary of Israel's victory in the Six Day War that unified Jerusalem. It also calls on Mr. Bush to adhere to the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, which authorized the funds to begin moving the embassy and declared that it was American policy to recognize the city as the capital of the Jewish state.

The House resolution, scheduled for a floor vote on Tuesday, "reiterates its commitment to the provisions of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and calls upon the President and all United States officials to abide by its provisions."

Although the resolution is not going to force Bush to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel--presidential candidates have promised to move the embassy since 1980--there is some political capital to be gained:

While Mr. Bush promised as a first-time presidential candidate to begin the process of moving the embassy, he has exercised a waiver in the 1995 law to avoid penalties the law imposes for failing to move the embassy. The fact that a Democratic-controlled Congress would press him on the issue could signal that he and Secretary of State Rice, who has been aiming to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs, have little domestic political leeway to pressure Israel for concessions on its capital.[emphasis added]

Unfortunately, the fact that Barak once put Jerusalem on the bargaining table has already taken the shine off of Israeli claims of an "Undivided Jerusalem".

Technorati Tag: Israel and Jerusalem and President Bush and Democrats.