Nir Barkat, mayor of Jerusalem, received an honorary degree and delivered the keynote address at Yeshiva University’s 92nd Hanukkah Dinner and Convocation on Sunday, at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The dinner raised close to $4 million, which serves as the University’s main annual fundraising event.
Barkat has served as mayor of Jerusalem since 2008, transforming Israel’s capital into an international leader in business, culture, and innovation.
In his introduction of Barkat, President Richard M. Joel lauded the mayor for his business skills and his commitment to public service as well as his success in creating a Jerusalem of peace, safety and wholeness. “With the eclectic variety that the population of Jerusalem maintains, you’ve elegantly shown that unity without uniformity is possible to achieve. You share and model the attributes of commitment to the Jewish people, professional acumen and determination, centrality of family and profound public service.”
First time in history, three YU Presidents together.
In his keynote address, Barkat spoke movingly about his deep personal connection to Jerusalem and his determination to do his best to enable the city to fulfill its highest potential.
(Credit: YU)
He cited how the city has spawned hundreds of business start-ups, multiplied the number of cultural events, elevated educational achievement at all levels and fostered an ethic of innovation and confidence. “I am so proud and so optimistic. When you walk our streets—where kings and prophets walked thousands of years ago—you see the diverse people of our city living together, thriving together, in our restaurants and theaters, in our hospitals and universities. You understand that Jerusalem is fulfilling its role in the world more and more.”
(Credit: YU)
Barkat closed off his speech by saying “In particular, I want to thank President-Elect Trump for his strong commitment to bringing the US embassy home to Jerusalem, to the united, undivided capital of the Jewish people and the state of Israel forever.”
During his campaign, campaign Trump said his promise to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a “very big priority”.
The mayor of Jerusalem told The New York Times that he is very optimistic that once Donald J. Trump becomes president, the United States will quickly move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to his contested ancient city, a step every other American administration has resisted to the annoyance of many Israeli Jews.
In an interview while visiting New York, the mayor, Nir Barkat, extolled Mr. Trump’s campaign pledge to relocate the embassy and said he thought it would happen “sooner rather than later.”
Mr. Trump is not the first presidential candidate to pledge that the embassy would be relocated. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush made those vows only to backtrack over concerns about prejudging the final outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. But Mr. Trump’s campaign assertion that the embassy would be moved “fairly quickly” suggested that he was not concerned that such a change would be viewed as taking sides.
As an outspoken proponent of embassy relocation, Mr. Barkat quickly congratulated Mr. Trump after the election, posting a message on his Twitter account.
In the interview with The New York Times, on Thursday, Mr. Barkat said he had commended Mr. Trump for “his very clear statements” on moving the embassy. “It should have been done years ago,” he said.
“My impression is, because I know some of the people and friends around Donald Trump, I believe that it will happen, sooner rather than later,” he said.
Mr. Barkat’s optimism partly reflects a broad confidence expressed by Israel’s top leaders that they will have a much closer relationship with the Trump administration than they had with its predecessor.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said as much in a “60 Minutes” interview recorded for broadcast on Sunday, disclosing plans to talk with Mr. Trump about how to subvert the international agreement reached last year with Iran that limits its nuclear capabilities in exchange for sanctions relief. During the campaign, Mr. Trump said that dismantling “the disastrous deal with Iran” was a priority, but he has not specified what he would do. Israel considers Iran a prime security threat.
“I think what options we have are much more than you think,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “There are ways, various ways of undoing it.” He did not explain them.
“The only good thing I can say about the deal with Iran is that it brought the Arab states and Israel closer together,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
In the interview, Mr. Barkat complimented Mr. Trump for promoting positions about the Middle East that are more attuned to how Israeli Jews see things.
“I think the last administration confused the Middle East,” Mr. Barkat said. “In the Middle East, you have to maintain a very clear position that you support the good guys and fight the bad guys.”
He suggested that the Obama administration’s negotiations with Iran, which led to the nuclear agreement, had emboldened Iran.
“The point is that if all of a sudden you try to be nice to the Iranians and cut a favorable deal with them, then it sends a message in the Middle East that maybe it’s worthwhile being the bad guy,” he said.
Mr. Trump has surrounded himself with Israel policy advisers who have indicated they approve of West Bank settlements, which the Obama administration, the United Nations and many governments regard as illegitimate and an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.
Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers have also played down the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, a longstanding cornerstone of American policy under Democrats and Republicans.
Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s Israel and Middle East Advisor
Jason Greenblatt,Trump’s Israel and Middle East Advisor
Mr. Barkat said he was friends with one of Mr. Trump’s daughters, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, who the president-elect has suggested could help broker an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The mayor said he first met the couple a few years ago in Jerusalem.
Israeli news organizations have recently reported that Mr. Kushner’s family foundation has given charitable donations to Israeli settlements.
David Friedman, one of Trump’s Israel and Middle East Advisor
“Naturally, I believe we are aligned in our thinking on what the right thing to do in Israel and for the Jewish people is,” Mr. Barkat said in the interview, “and I do believe that both Jared and Ivanka will probably impact and give the right advice to President-elect Trump.”
