Moving UK embassy to Jerusalem could ‘undermine peace,’ warns Reform Jewish org

“We are committed to two viable states as the only just and realistic solution to the present situation,” the Movement for Reform Judaism said in a statement.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

On the heels of an announcement from new UK Prime Minister Liz Truss that she is seriously weighing moving the country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a British group of Reform Jews issued a statement warning against the potential move.

“We are committed to two viable states as the only just and realistic solution to the present situation,” the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) said in a statement.

“Consequently, we would caution against the government taking action that might undermine peace in the region.”

The MRJ statement added that the organization is “unequivocally Zionist and has a non-negotiable commitment to Israel and its security. We believe the pursuit of peace in Israel is the highest ideal and priority.”

The group’s position that moving the embassy to Israel’s capital would be inherently provocative comes in stark contrast to the view of the Board of Deputies, the UK’s oldest Jewish organization.

The Jewish Chronicle reported that Board of Deputies president Marie van Zyl praised the potential move during a pro-Israel conference last week.

“We are really hopeful that the government is going to move the embassy, like America, to Jerusalem – the capital of Israel,” JC quoted her as saying.

At the same conference, Health Minister Robert Jenrick said that the UK already has “a site in Jerusalem [for a new embassy] waiting to go.”

He added that “it is time we took responsibility and built that Embassy and recognized that the true capital of the State of Israel is obviously Jerusalem.”

“As you know I am a huge Zionist, I am a huge supporter of Israel, and I know that we can take the UK-Israel relationship from strength to strength,” Truss said in early October.

“In this world – where we are facing threats from authoritarian regimes who don’t believe in freedom and democracy – two free democracies, the UK and Israel, need to stand shoulder to shoulder and we will be even closer in the future,” she said.