JERUSALEM

December 6, 2017

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher,

101 Main Street #380

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

Dear Congressman,

Re: Middle East

The announcement of Trump’s intention to move the US embassy to Jerusalem despite the opposition of almost everyone except Benjamin Netanyahu and his band of right-wing radical Israelis is yet another slap in the face for the rest of the world. It clearly invites further turmoil in the Middle East, where nothing is less needed than further turmoil. As a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, you should join with your colleagues on this committee to condemn this move.

The reputation of the United States as a member of the world community of nations is now—as Trump said yesterday of his own national law enforcement agency, the FBI—“in tatters.” This is the result of our current president’s shabby “America First” policy, his personal weakness contrasted with his pretense of strength, his boastful strutting on the world stage and his disregard for the norms of diplomacy—let alone his appalling ignorance of history and cultural traditions.

What a mockery of his promise to “make America great again”! Even our Secretary of State gets the cold shoulder when he meets with European colleagues, as reported in today’s New York Times. A once-great power is being reduced to the object of world ridicule and disgust.

I need to ask: what is your House Committee doing to preserve and indeed restore the reputation of the United States in the world community?

Respectfully,

Peter Clothier, Ph.D.