The Implementation of the Jerusalem Embassy Act Under President Donald Trump (2017-2019)

Fahlesa Munabari (International Relations Study Program, Faculty of Social Sciences and Global Studies, Universitas Budi Luhur)
Hamdani Hamdani (International Relations Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, President University)

Budi Luhur Journal of Strategic and Global Studies
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2023): July

Abstrak :Artikel ini bertujuan menganalisis kepentingan nasional dan kebijakan luar negeri Amerika Serikat di bawah kepemimpinan Presiden Donald J. Trump terkait pemindahan Kedutaan Besar Amerika Serikat di Israel dari Tel-Aviv ke Yerusalem pada 6 Desember 2017. Relokasi Kedutaan Besar Amerika Serikat telah ditetapkan dalam Undang-Undang Kedutaan Yerusalem yang disetujui oleh kongres Amerika Serikat ke-104 pada tahun 1995 pada masa pemerintahan Presiden Bill Clinton. Namun, selama beberapa dekade pelaksanaan undang-undang tersebut tidak terealisasi hingga tahun 2016. Selanjutnya undang-undang tersebut direalisasikan pada masa pemerintahan Presiden Donald J. Trump yang didukung oleh anggota Kongres ke-115 pada tahun 2017. Menggunakan kerangka teori politik luar negeri dan kepentingan nasional, artikel ini berargumen bahwa keputusan pemindahan Kedutaan Besar Amerika Serikat dari Tel Aviv ke Yerusalem disebabkan oleh beberapa faktor seperti pengaruh peran lobi Israel yang sangat mempengaruhi arah kebijakan luar negeri AS khususnya terkait Israel, karakteristik konservatif Partai Republik, kelompok Kristen Evangelis dan Zionis yang mendukung kepentingan Israel, dan hubungan bilateral khusus antara Israel dan Amerika Serikat.   Abstract: This article is aimed at analyzing the national interests and foreign policy of the United States under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump regarding the relocation of the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem on December 6, 2017. The relocation of the United States Embassy had been stipulated in the Jerusalem Embassy Act approved by the 104th United States congress in 1995 during the administration of President Bill Clinton. However, for several decades the implementation of the law was not realized until 2016. Furthermore, the law was realized during the administration of President Donald J. Trump who was supported by members of the 115th Congress in 2017. Using the theoretical framework of foreign policy and national interest, this article argues that the decision to relocate the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was due to some factors such as the influential role of the Israeli lobby, which greatly influences the direction of US foreign policy especially with regard to Israel, the conservative characteristics of the Republic Party, the Evangelical and Zionist Christian groups, which support Israeli’s interests, and the special bilateral relations between Israel and the United States.