A Week Around the World With <i>The Atlantic</i>

What We’re Writing

All eyes were on President Trump this week when he announced that the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. His decision was highly controversial but the wording of the announcement was “.” Uri Friedman that this type of “foreign policy by half-measures” is typical of Trump, and David Graham Trump may be avoiding domestic problems with a splashy foreign-policy announcement. Regional experts are worried that the backlash will come from a perceived threat to the city’s religious sites, and Shadi Hamid that America’s Arab allies care little about Palestinian lives, and so will not have the visceral reaction some expect. While former Israeli Knesset member Einat Wilf believes that Trump’s move is , Peter Beinart that it may be a sign the president is willing to stoke religious tensions in order to appeal to his political base.