Trump remains committed to moving embassy to Jerusalem, transition team says

The team's spokesman did not offer a timeline, but did note that the choice for Israel ambassador is on record as favoring the move from Tel Aviv.

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WASHINGTON (JTA) — President-elect Donald Trump “remains firmly committed” to moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, his transition team said.

“This is a commitment that the president-elect made numerous times on the campaign trail, that he remains firmly committed to,” Jason Miller, a transition team spokesman, said Friday on the daily briefing call for reporters.

The prior evening, Trump nominated longtime adviser David Friedman to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel, and in the campaign’s release, Friedman said he looked forward to working from the embassy in Jerusalem.

JTA asked Miller on the briefing call whether that meant Trump has a timeline for moving the embassy from Tel Aviv, and he said it did not. But he reiterated Trump’s commitment to such a move, noting that he chose as an ambassador someone who is on the record backing the move. Miller said it was too soon, with 35 days until inauguration, to schedule such an action.

Congress recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 1995 and mandated the embassy move, but successive presidents have exercised a waiver on the move, citing national security considerations.

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