Edelstein invokes biblical prophecies to thank Pence for US shift on Jerusalem

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein welcomes US Vice President Mike Pence to the Knesset in Jerusalem, “the eternal capital of the Jewish people.

He thanks Pence for the Trump administration’s December 6 declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Edelstein says the move fulfills Biblical prophecies and “more than any other country in the world, the United States is a loyal partner in this historical project.”

“I know that in what little spare time you have, you like to read the words of the prophets, and now you can see them coming true. The City of David is rebuilt, and we are guarding our walls again,” he says.

“You’ve said it’s not coincidental — we are tied together by values and aspirations, based on our basic beliefs of liberty, Biblical tradition and peace.”

He slams PA President Mahmoud Abbas for cursing Trump over the move, saying he would not hear similar negative remarks in Israel.

“It’s wrong to assume that repeating the mistakes of the past will yield better results,” he says before thanking Trump.

Edelstein says there are two longstanding lies that are being spread about the peace process:

The first one, he says, is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the core problem in the Middle East and not the Iranian regime. The second, he says, is that the weaker side is right and the stronger side is wrong.

Edelstein says both of these “lies” are being reversed by the Trump administration.

“The era of lies will make way for the era of truth. What we’ve learned is that peace won’t descend from the sky. It must grow.”