THE UNDIVIDED CAPITOL OF ISRAEL

My position on Jerusalem has always been firm, it is and should remain the undivided Capitol of Israel.

Unlike when it was in Jordanian hands, it should remain a city open to all who wish to worship and live in peace.

Of course we all know such an undivided Jerusalem almost certainly means no peace. It is a dilemma for Israel as well as the United States and the Palestinians too. Israel chooses to live with terror, the Palestinians choose to allow their people to live in squalor, all in the pursuit of Jerusalem.

There are those who are worried that the current tensions between Washington and the Israeli government portend a permanent rift. To them I would say that The United States chooses, to this day and minute, to protect not only Israel's right to exist but should it ever come to it, her very existence itself. To this day and to this very minute.

The United States will never let anything happen to Israel and Israel (at least under this government) will never be cowered by an American government into acting against what it sees as its own interests, so relax. This President is not in my opinion abandoning Israel any time soon.

What I think the United States should do is declare peace and lead the world in an effort to get the Palestinians out of the squalor that they live in by building anew in those areas which both sides have already agreed will be a part of the Palestinian state. People with hope are more likely to look for a job and less likely to blow themselves up.

It's one approach anyway. The other involves blacktop.