Obama Thinks Jerusalem Is Israel's Capital? State Department Didn't Get The Memo!

So what does Obama think about Jerusalem?

A brief recap:

• "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided."
  Candidate Candidate Obama, June 2008
  
  
• "Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations"
  Candidate Obama, backtracking on Jerusalem, next day.
  
• "I asked the DNC [why it omitted sections of its 2008 Israel plank from its 2012 platform] and we have an answer. And their answer was that they were simply following what the Obama administration’s policy is, and the White House said several months ago that the status of Jerusalem is an issue that should be resolved in the final status negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and that is why it is not in the platform as it was in 2008."
  CNN’s Dana Bash, quoted in DNC Blames Obama for Israel Platform, September 4, 2012
  
  
• The platform also now includes what advisers said was Obama's personal views on Jerusalem.
  The Associated Press, September 5, 2012

Keep in mind that according to the DNC, in 2012 Jerusalem was not originally included in the platform because it is a final status issue, but in 2008 Jerusalem was included in the platform even though then too it was a final status issue.

But it doesn't matter at all, does it, since for the umpteenth time the media has asked -- outside of the bubble that was the Democratic National Convention -- if Jerusalem was the capital of Israel, and there again was no straight answer to be found:

The State Department still refuses to commit to any meaningful answer on Jerusalem -- on September 6, 2012:

MR. VENTRELL: Okay, good afternoon. Welcome to the State Department. We have with us some diplomats who are headed out to be spokespeople at some of our embassies overseas, so welcome to the briefing, to all of you. I don’t have anything else, so I’ll turn it over to you.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: On Israel?

MR. VENTRELL: Yeah.

QUESTION: Which city does the U.S. Government recognize as the capital in the – Israel?

MR. VENTRELL: Well, as you know, longstanding Administration policy, both in this Administration and in previous administrations across both parties, is that the status of Jerusalem is an issue that should be resolved in final status negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. So that’s longstanding Administration policy and continues to be so.

QUESTION: I mean, no city is recognized as a capital by the U.S. Government?

MR. VENTRELL: Again, I just stated our position, and it’s one we’ve said here many times before.

QUESTION: That means Jerusalem is not a part of Israel?

MR. VENTRELL: What it means is that the status of Jerusalem must be resolved in final status negotiations.

QUESTION: But you do have an Embassy in a city which is not Jerusalem.

MR. VENTRELL: Our Embassy is in Tel Aviv, and we have a Consulate General in Jerusalem.

QUESTION: Right. But I mean, if you have an Embassy, usually it’s in the capital; so therefore, it would appear that you believe that Tel Aviv is the capital.

MR. VENTRELL: What we believe is that the status of Jerusalem should be determined in final status negotiations between the two parties. And currently, our Embassy is in Tel Aviv.

QUESTION: Are there any other countries in the world where the U.S. doesn’t know what the capital is or won’t say what the capital of a country is?

QUESTION: What does the U.S. think the capital of Israel is? What do you –

MR. VENTRELL: As I’ve just said, we believe that the status of Jerusalem is an issue that should be resolved in final status –

QUESTION: I’m not asking you that question. I’m asking you what you think the capital is.

MR. VENTRELL: And my response is that Jerusalem is an issue that should be resolved in final status negotiations.

QUESTION: She didn’t ask about Jerusalem, though.

MR. VENTRELL: Look, this is something we’ve been through at this podium. Toria has been through it before. We’ve repeated it many times. You know that the position is. It hasn’t changed for decades.

QUESTION: Wait, I know that. And I don’t want to play the verbal game, I’m just very curious if you actually have a position about a capital of that country. And if you don’t, if – I just would like to hear you say you don’t.

MR. VENTRELL: Well, right now, Nicole –

QUESTION: Yes.

MR. VENTRELL: — the situation is that we have an Embassy in Tel Aviv that represents our interests with the Government of Israel but that the issue of Jerusalem is one that has to be resolved between the two parties. That’s all I can say on this.

Anything else? Thank you.

No, thank you.

No one is asking Obama to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.
But after taking the trouble to bend the rules to put a plank in the Democratic platform saying that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, the list the Obama administration could do is make believe they meant it.

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