HIPAC Wants Embassy Moved

The Harvard Israel Public Affairs Committee (HIPAC) tabled in front of Widener Library yesterday, soliciting signatures asking President-elect Bill Clinton to move the U.S. embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem.

The group, which tabled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. collected a total of 230 signatures, said HIPAC co-chair Jonathan A. Bresman '95.

Clinton has said publicly that he considers Jerusalem the capital of Israel but has not said if he will move the embassy.

Bresman said the group was tabling to bring attention to a situation of which many Harvard students are ignorant. He added that many students do not realize the American embassy is not in Jerusalem.

"Every sovereign nation has the right to determine its capital," said Amalia D. Kessler '95, a HIPAC member who helped with the letter circulation. "If the U.S. accepts Israel's basic right to exist, then it must recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capitol by moving its embassy there from Tel-Aviv."

HIPAC co-chair Joshua E. Lehrer-Graiwer '95 agreed. "Maintaining the U.S. embassy in Tel-Aviv is analogous to Israel keeping its embassy in Boston," he said.

Bresman, who is a Crimson editor, said that Jerusalem's historical and religious significance for the people of Israel also make it a more fitting location for the embassy. The city is an open one, he said, and people of all religions can now worship freely there.

"Jerusalem is central to the Jewish people," he said. "The city is open to all religions, and it was never as free under Jordanian rule--or ever--as it is now."

Bresman also said the change in the location of the U.S. embassy would be a confidence-building measure for Israel. The move would show the United States' appreciation for the "many unilateral concessions in the peace process" made by Israel, Bresman said.

Clinton was quoted in the February 4, 1992, issue of The Near East Report as supporting a Congressional resolution recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

"I support the resolution passed in 1990 by the House and Senate declaring that `Jerusalem is and should remain the capital of the state of Israel,'" Clinton said.