Dec. 6, 2017
Following Trump's Jerusalem announcement, Heather Hurlburt explained her takeaways for New York Magazine.
In this case, ironically, Trump’s action made clear some of the realities that have gone unacknowledged by official Washington. For more than two decades, key actors have been willing to play along with the premise that the U.S. is a neutral mediator, even though Democratic and Republican administrations alike tilt firmly toward Israel. Now, the president himself is no longer willing to play along, wanting instead to squeeze maximum benefits from being on the Israeli “side.” The corollary truth that is more and more quietly spoken: an Israeli-Palestinian peace process under U.S. leadership, the way it was envisaged at Oslo 25 years ago, is dead.