European media have exhausted every fiery metaphor to convey their collective leftist dismay that President Donald J. Trump stood by his campaign pledge to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate the U.S. embassy there.
Belgian left-wing newspaper De Morgen headed their front page with the headline: “Trump Opens Gates of Hell”. The publication, based in the highly Muslim-populated European Union capital of Brussels, quoted Palestinian reactions to the decision, writing: “We fear this decision will set the region on fire.”
L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s newspaper, joined in the circuit of ‘inflammatory’ headlines by leading with, “Trump Inflames the Middle East”, and alluding to an increased “risk of terrorism in the region” as well as “mounting fears of possible demonstrations of protest and unrest”.
Britain’s left-wing Independent website, which was formerly a newspaper before its declining circulation forced it to go digital, wrote: “Trump Risks a Fire with No End.”
France’s Le Croix ran with “Trump Blows on the Embers”, its online article describing the decision as “explosive”, with Le Figaro describing the “wave of international outrage” — mostly coming from leftist leaders and Islamic extremist governments.
Belgian Flemish-language newspaper De Morgen “Trump Opens Gates of Hell”
Several of the newspapers featured photographs of angry Palestinians, flag-burning, and images of President Trump being burnt by Arabs, coupled with headlines implying that violence from unstable regions of the Middle East is the result solely of the President’s actions.
What was lacking in coverage in Western Europe, however, was the Israeli perspective or celebrations of the news that “the obvious” had been announced: that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish state.
“I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” President Trump said Wednesday. “While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today, I am delivering.”
He later added: “Today, we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It’s something that has to be done.”
Swedish Dagens Nyheter, “Donald Trump’s decision on Jerusalem ignites a spark”
Reaction from Europe’s political establishment was negative, with many national leaders who had hitherto claimed support for Israel retreating behind United Nations declarations.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that her government does “not agree with Trump’s decision” and will continue to comply with the relevant UN resolutions — the same United Nations that declared in 1979 that Zionism is racism with Resolution 3379 (which was not repealed until 1991).
France’s globalist president Emmanuel Macron, who formerly stood by the side of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare that anti-Zionism was a new form of anti-Semitism, called the announcement “regrettable”.
He tweeted: “On Jerusalem, France disagrees with the decision of the United States. France supports the solution of two states, Israel and Palestine, living in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capital of two states. We focus on appeasement and dialogue.”
Britain’s left-wing Independent
British Prime Minister Theresa May, who needs to broker a good trade deal with the U.S. post-Brexit, told Members of Parliament that she would confront Trump over his decision.
However, support was strong for Trump’s announcement from European conservatives and populists.
Geert Wilders, the leader of the second-largest party in the Netherlands, the anti-mass migration Freedom Party, tweeted: “Fantastic news!! All civilized countries should follow the example of the brave USA and recognize #Jerusalem as the eternal and undivided capital of #Israel!”
Brexit architect and UKIP Member of European Parliament Nigel Farage shared on social media: “Trump is fulfilling his promises. What a change from the rest!”
Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, “Playing with Fire”
And leader of the populist Italian Northern League added: “Full support to President #Trump‘s policies on tax cuts, Israel and border control.”
According to European sources speaking to The Times of Israel, Hungary, led by conservative Viktor Orbán, is expected to follow President Trump’s lead after Budapest blocked on Wednesday a joint EU statement to oppose the President’s move.
The Czech Republic, which has just appointed the ‘Czech Trump‘ Andrej Babiš as prime minister, is believed to be recognising the pre-1967 Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and may be moving their embassy also, according to the Prague foreign ministry.
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