The U.S. Embassy was set to officially open its doors in Jerusalem on Monday, fulfilling a promise made last December by U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate the embassy there.
"A great day for Israel," Trump tweeted Monday, hours before the grand opening celebration was about to kick off.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman praised the move at a celebratory event at the Orthodox Union in Jerusalem, saying it is the "single most popular thing he [Trump] has done."
He declared that "Israel's greatest friend, the U.S." is once again leading the world with moral clarity and supporting its allies.
In a special celebration at the Foreign Ministry on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave Friedman a letter of appreciation thanking Trump for his move.
"President Trump is making history," Netanyahu told ministers, MKs, and foreign diplomats at the ceremony.
"We are deeply grateful and our people will be eternally grateful for his bold decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to move the embassy there tomorrow."
Netanyahu, who is also the foreign minister, said, "Now, you are in the Foreign Ministry and I'm the foreign minister, and you're coming at a time when Israel is a rising power in the world, you know, in cyber, in IT [information technology], in water, in judo, in singing." The last was a reference to Israel's victory in the 2018 Eurovision song contest the previous night.
"President Trump's decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem affirms a great and simple truth: Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for the past 3,000 years," Netanyahu said.
"It's been the capital of our state for the past 70 years. It will remain our capital for all time.
"Thank you, President Trump, for your bold decision, thank you for making the alliance between Israel and the U.S. stronger than ever.
"Now, you know how you recognize real leadership? It's when others follow, and others are following in President Trump's footsteps," Netanyahu said, referring to Guatemala and Paraguay, which have also announced that they will move their embassies to Jerusalem this week.
"I thank Guatemala's foreign minister, who is here, Sandra Jovel, who has joined us today. We will open your embassy two days from tomorrow. Thank you.
"I thank the president of Paraguay and the incoming president of Paraguay, because they'll open their embassy a few days after that. And other nations are in the process of doing exactly that," Netanyahu continued.
"I call on all countries to join the U.S. in moving their embassies to Jerusalem. Move your embassies to Jerusalem because it's the right thing to do. And move your embassies to Jerusalem because it advances peace, and that's because you can't base peace on a foundation of lies. You base peace on the foundations of truth, and the truth is that not only has Jerusalem been the capital of the Jewish people for millennia and the capital of our state from its inception, the truth is that under any peace agreement you could possibly imagine, Jerusalem will remain Israel's capital."
Netanyahu also spoke about Iran, thanking Trump "for his decision to confront Iran rather than to appease it. Pulling out of the nuclear deal means that the world's greatest sponsor of terrorism is no longer on a path to attaining an arsenal of nuclear weapons. This is good for Israel, this is good for the region, it's good for the world."
Dozens of foreign diplomats attended the event, including from Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic, who arrived despite the European Union itself refraining from attending the ceremony and calling on ambassadors from member states to avoid it in protest against the U.S. move. The EU's official policy is to oppose moving embassies to Jerusalem in the absence of a permanent peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, who envision parts of Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
The EU mission in Israel tweeted on Friday that the bloc would "respect the international consensus on Jerusalem ... including on the location of their diplomatic representations until the final status of Jerusalem is resolved."
A large American delegation was present at the ceremony, including the president's daughter Ivanka Trump, along with her husband and presidential adviser Jared Kushner. Netanyahu met with Kushner on Sunday and said his presence at the inaugural event has international significance.
The delegation was led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan. It also included Friedman, Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer, and U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt.
On Monday morning, Mnuchen called the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem a "national security priority."
"I couldn't be prouder to be here, to be representing the president, to be part of this administration, to be witnessing this historic moment that should have been done long ago," Mnuchin said in an interview with Israel Hayom.
Speaking Sunday at a ceremony for fallen soldiers in the Six-Day War and War of Attrition, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, "Tomorrow we will witness a historic moment, one we have been awaiting for 51 years, from the day of Jerusalem's liberation. I want to thank President Trump once again for his courageous decision to transfer the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel and of the Jewish people, and not to capitulate or be deterred by threats and intimidation by Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas], Hamas and their allies.
"Clearly, we need to also thank President Trump for his important decision to exit the nuclear deal with Iran. On this day, when we mark the brave battles for Jerusalem, I wish to go back to the words that many surely said before they took their last breath, and not only on Ammunition Hill or battle sites in the city: 'If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten.'"
