The OU Advocacy Center, the public policy arm of the Orthodox Union, has launched a petition on Change.org asking President-Elect Donald Trump to act upon his pledge to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem — Israel’s capital city — soon after Mr. Trump takes office.

Congress ratified this policy and action long ago, passing the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. It became law under President Bill Clinton.

The Act stipulates that Jerusalem be recognized by the United States as the capital of Israel, remain undivided and that the U.S. Embassy be relocated to Jerusalem.

Since that time, every president has signed a national security waiver, delaying the move. Last week President Obama signed such a waiver and it will be in effect until June, 2017.

During the election campaign, Donald Trump stated: “We will move the American embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem. And we will send a clear signal that there is no daylight between America and our most reliable ally, the State of Israel.”

The petition being launched today addressed to Mr. Trump states: “Early in your presidency will be a fitting, if overdue, time for you, President-Elect Trump, to relocate the American Embassy in Israel to the capital of the Jewish state.”

OU Advocacy Center Executive Director Nathan Diament noted that June 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. “We strongly urge President-Elect Trump to commemorate this important moment in Jewish history by honoring his commitment to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.”

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