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Bush �looks into� moving embassy to Jerusalem
Jonathan Broder / Washington

In one of his first actions as president, George W. Bush has instructed aides to begin exploring the process of moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, The Jerusalem Report has learned.

�The process is beginning,� White House foreign policy spokesperson Mary Ellen Countryman told The Report. �The president has asked his foreign policy team to look into how this can be accomplished.�

During his campaign, Bush repeatedly told audiences that he would �begin the process� of moving the embassy to Jeru-salem �as soon as I take office.� And his rapid move in that direction appears designed to deflect � for now � an early challenge to his new administration by Jewish Democrats over the embassy pledge.

On Monday, January 22, Bush�s first day of work at the White House, he was greeted by a public challenge issued by Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, to uphold his pledge.

The Jewish Democrats also announced that they had formed a new watchdog campaign � called �Embassy Watch� � to track the transformation of Bush�s rhetoric into reality.

If Bush drags his feet on the issue, he won�t be the first president to do so. During his 1992 presidential campaign, and again in 1996, Bill Clinton repeatedly told Jewish audiences he would move the embassy to West Jerusalem. Indeed, a plot earmarked for the building has been leased in the Talpiot neighborhood for more than a decade.

But despite pressure from Congress, Clinton constantly postponed the move, citing the delicacy of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians over the final status of the city. The White House�s Countryman said that Bush�s goal in the Middle East is to achieve �lasting peace, based on a secure Israel,� and that the administration �will work actively on that issue.� But as for moving the embassy, she acknowledged the sensitivities involved and added: �It�s not going to happen overnight.�

  

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