Professor Beeman on decision of Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel: Trump cares only about himself

The decision of US President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel hasgenerated a series of reactions in Palestine and around the world.

This decision (recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the U.S. Embassy there) has provoked widespread opposition even among Christians.

Many western thinkers and political science professors reacted to this decision and criticized that. One of these persons is professor William. O. Beeman. Professor Bemman is a Middle East expert and professor of anthropology at The University of Minnesota. He was for many years Professor of Anthropology and East Asian Studies at Brown University.

Mr Beeman has a lot of works and lectures on Israel and Palestine relationship and its influence on the US and the middle east. So, we have had an interview with him and asked him to explain his point of view about this issue.

We asked professor Beeman that What does he think about recent decision by Trump about recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and what is his end for this decision?

Professor Beeman explained that Trump campaigned on a number of issues that would make him popular with right-wing conservatives in the United States.

"One of his campaign promises was to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem". He added.

"This is not a new idea. The Israeli lobby in the United States, and the Israeli government has been asking for this for a very long time, but Presidents before realized that this was a very dangerous thing to do, because it would antagonize people defending Palestinian rights all over the Middle East". He asserted.

Then Professor Beeman focused on European countries and said: European nations have refrained from moving their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for this very reason, because it would legitimize Israeli claims to Jerusalem, which the Israelis would use in any negotiations with Palestinians.

Professor Beeman concluded that Trump does not care about international relations, or the consequences of his actions. He cares only about himself and his own image, and also the support of his right-wing "base." Therefore, doing this would first of all fulfill a campaign promise, and second would be a popular action with his core right-wing supporters. despite much advice telling Trump not to do this, he went ahead anyway.

He asserted at the end that many Americans were upset and angry about this because the majority of Americans want a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian question.

"This move will not do this, so there is great disapproval of his action by the majority of Americans". He said.