U.S. Embassy opening in Jerusalem met by protests

Women protestors hold placards reading &#039;Al Quds belongs to muslims&#039; on May 11, 2018 in Istanbul, during a demonstration against US President Donald Trumps controversial decision to recognise

(Image credit: Ozan Kose/Getty Images)

last updated 13 May 2018

The new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem is due to open Monday, May 14, following President Trump's controversial decision to formally recognize the city as Israel's capital and move diplomatic operations from Tel Aviv.

The conversion of the American consulate building in Jerusalem into a temporary embassy (until a new construction is completed) has sparked protest among Palestinians, especially because the day after, May 15, is an annual commemoration of the 700,000 Palestinians who left or were expelled from their homes around Israel's 1948 Declaration of Independence.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.

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