The Aipac Conference opened this week in Washington D.C. with a huge success for Israel on the international political front. Two countries, Honduras and Romania promised to move their embassies to Jerusalem. Israel, which has been working hard to get as many countries as possible to move their embassies to the nation’s capital views this as a major win.

Honduras led the way with an announcement that they would undertake the switch of location for their embassy, when President Juan Orlando Hernandez surprised the crowd and said: “Honduras will immediately open our official diplomatic mission and this will extend our embassy to the capital of Israel, Jerusalem.”

The current Embassy of the country, today located in Rishon Letzion, will not close, and the Jerusalem locatio will function as a branch of the one located in Rishon.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă went one step further and announced that her country would also move its embassy and also recognize officially Jerusalem to be Israel’s capital city.

“I am pleased to announce today, in front of this AIPAC audience…I, as Prime Minister of Romania and the government that I run, will move our embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel.”

“I can promise you this: Romania will remain the same loyal friend and the strongest European voice in support of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.”

Other countries such as Australia, the Czech Republic, and Brazil, have all expressed interest in moving their embassies to Jerusalem as well.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II has canceled a visit to Romania to protest its prime minister’s support for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The Royal Hashemite Court said Monday that the decision came “in solidarity with Jerusalem.” Abdullah was scheduled to visit Romania later in the day.

On Sunday, Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila told a conference in Washington that her country was moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

However, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, a rival who’s in charge of the East European nation’s foreign policy, said the prime minister hadn’t consulted with him over the decision.

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital. Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967, as their capital.

Jordan is the custodian of Muslim holy sites in east Jerusalem’s Old City.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)