Tipping Point Quick Hits (10.21.21)

Dividing Jerusalem, hypersonic Chinese missiles, and a rise in secular humanism

Biden Administration Considers Dividing Jerusalem Again

In order to deepen ties with the Palestinians, the Biden administration has announced that it is moving forward with a plan to reopen the American consulate in East Jerusalem. There is not yet a date set for the reopening, but Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has already said he will refuse to agree to it.

Israel 365 explains the significance of this reopening:

The 175-year-old consulate served as the de facto embassy to the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem. In 2019, the Trump administration merged the consulate into the newly opened embassy in Israel’s capital. The embassy was moved from Tel Aviv a year earlier as per the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act which emphasized the unity and indivisibility of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Critics believe this move is an attempt to someday make Jerusalem the capital of Palestine and promote the establishment of a Palestinian state. One of those critics is Nir Barkat, the former mayor of Jerusalem:

“The Americans are planning to open a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem,” Barkat wrote on his Facebook page. “This is a unilateral and unprecedented step that will lead to a wave of opening many Palestinian consulates and embassies in Jerusalem.”