Christianity – USA Gov Policy

Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are on the verge of breaking down yet again.

One of the thorniest issues involves the fate of Jerusalem. As in so many international issues, there is more emotion and misinformation than facts in the discourse over the problem. That’s not surprising, considering that it is a site of extraordinary importance to three of the world’s major religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both Jews and Arabs claim biologic ancestry going back to the beginning of the site’s existence.

Archaeologists believe the area was first settled in the 4^th millennium B.C. near the local Gihon stream. Fortified walls first appeared in the 18^th century B.C., and difficult relations with neighboring nations are indicated by Egyptian “Execration” texts, which reveal that Egypt was hostile to the city.

From 586 B.C. onward Jerusalem, although at times quite prosperous, was subjected to numerous invasions. According to published sources, Jerusalem has been totally destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked an additional 52 times, and captured 44 times.

Most famously, of course, was the Roman invasion. Rebellions against the rule of the Caesar’s resulted in the burning of the old city in 70 A.D. During the Byzantine period, Christianity had a heavy influence, until Muslims invaded in the 7^th century. They were ousted by Crusaders four centuries later in the 11^th century, who were ousted by the Arabs in the 12^th century. In the 15^th century, Jerusalem was taken by the Ottoman Empire, which was defeated by the Allies in World War One. After that, it was ruled as a British mandate.

Following the declaration of Israel’s independence in 1948, the city was divided between Israel and Jordan. (The United Nations General Assembly sought to establish the city as a separate entity under its own control.) The division lasted until the conclusion of the 1967 war, when a victorious Israel was able to occupy the entire site.
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Neither side has been particularly eager to compromise, and so the issue appears intractable. Delving through its voluminous history, however, several facts do stand out.

Of the three religions that lay claim to the site, Muslims appear to have the weakest link. The city has been central to Judaism essentially for as long as there has been a Jewish identity, with architectural and archeological evidence of it being the key center of worship. Christ was crucified there, making it the linchpin of Christianity. The Prophet Mohammed never physically visited the City, but is said to have arisen to heaven from there. Muslims rank both Mecca and Medina higher as religious sites. In terms of tolerance, the period of Israeli control has been more tolerant than that which occurred under Jordan.

A similar comparison may be made in terms of being a national capital. While Jerusalem has served as a capital city for Israel whenever Israel was independent, there is no substantial evidence that it has served as either a national or provincial capital for any Arab state.

But over the past decades, Palestinians have made keeping at least a portion of Jerusalem a key part of their demands, and most international organizations, including the United Nations, have been generally supportive. The United States has not recognized Israel’s claim of Jerusalem as its national capital. Therefore, the relative historical weakness of the Palestinian claims has not played a significant role.

It is quite possible that external factors, including both international organizations and individual countries other than the two parties involved, may be rendering negotiations more, rather than less, difficult. The casting of Jerusalem as a prize, a point of prestige in the eyes of the world, makes a settlement based on facts and practicality a secondary consideration.

Quick Analysis

China’s Tech Targets

Chinese technology is changing and its leadership is using it, along with espionage, to challenge the West in a number of critical areas. The United States is only one of its targets. Previously, Beijing’s spies primarily sought Western technologies as a way to skip generations of develop cost and time to modernize its economy. Today, its acquisition of advanced technologies, and now also its indigenous development, makes the communist giant a threat to freedom-loving people everywhere. This week Nan Mulchandani, the CIA’s chief technology officer, said Director William Burns is preparing for an “infinite race” with Beijing for artificial intelligence and advanced technologies. He argues the US must pivot toward providing American spies with the latest transformative technologies to outcompete China. Mulchandani says this means updating everything the agency does “from operations to the analytic function, support functions and other piece there.” America, he suggests, needs to alter its thinking toward viewing this not as a race with a finite end point, but as an ongoing competition. Mr. Mulchandani predicted that the next area of competition would “be primarily a software war that is powered by something like AI” rather than hardware fueled by software. That competition, however, is not confined to simply acquiring critical technologies for use in the future. China is also challenging the US in space. China announced today it launched a groundbreaking mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the moon. The space capsule will arrive in four days and collect 4.4 pounds of moon rocks and regolith, or moon dirt. Beijing’s desire to one day become a space power and scientific force is for pragmatic purposes in 2024 a fait accompli. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said during a NASA budget hearing this week, that “while the US remains the global leader in space exploration, we face increasing challenges internationally.” Referring to China’s space station, Lucas said: “We cannot allow China to become the front-runner in space exploration… There are too many consequences for our competitiveness, our national security, and our continued ability to explore space.” A new report released this week by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) says that the United States, to further its geopolitical interests and maintain a strong domestic economy, must approach every aspect of economic and trade policy through the lens of global technology competition. The Biden Administration’s approach, it says, discounts the landscape of competition between China and the US and may “jeopardize US advancements in emerging technologies… which could cede the advantage to China….” In particular, the report recommends that the US take action now because quantum and artificial intelligence (AI) need a federal policy to ensure the country can spur the entrepreneurship and R&D efforts foundational to the strength of the technology sector. As China’s Communist Party (CCP) becomes more hostile to the United States and other Western nations, its aggressive activities abroad expand and intensify. Chinese spy cases far outnumber those of Russia and every other nation. CSIS reports that since President Xi took over in 2012 there have been 224 incidents of spying. Estimates of the long -term economic, scientific, and national security cost to the US run into the billions and have “created immeasurable damage to national security with the theft of weapons technology, including nuclear weapons test data… China has added the theft of massive quantities of personal information, political coercion, and influence operations, to its espionage activities.” The CSIS reports says that 49% of incidents of spying in the US directly involved Chinese military or government employees, with private Chinese citizens accounted for 41%. In 29% of the espionage cases the person involved was attempting to acquire military technology, while in 54% of the incidents it was related to commercial technologies. Almost half of the cases involved cyber espionage, usually by state—affiliated actors. No matter where one turns today China is challenging the West, from the depths of our oceans to outer space. The United States cannot count on China to be a good global citizen and refrain from attempting to enforce its vision of world order with Beijing at the apex. The time is growing short for the West to take action. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.