In “Why Guatemala, Honduras support Trump on Jerusalem,” The Washington Post gave at least ten reasons why Guatemala and Honduras supported and may follow the United States’ example by moving their embassies to Jerusalem. None of these reasons included that it was the right thing to do.

To the Post, it was because the South American leaders were “embattled,” “they had a lot to lose by upsetting the Trump administration,” it was an attempt “to curry favor with Washington,” and they have “domestic challenges that are helped by aligning with conservatives in the United States and Israel.” Further, the Guatemalan president “relies on the support of the evangelical community, which has consistently advocated for Israel’s right to have Jerusalem as its capital,” and “Israel gave military aid to the government for its fight against leftist guerrillas during the Guatemalan’s civil war.”

The Post chose to interview former Guatemalan foreign minister Fernando Carrera, who said about the country’s current leader: “he’s trying to please his political base,” “he’s also trying to close the gap of confidence with the United States” and, “He’s trying to strengthen his position.”

The Honduran leader, according to the Post article, “is also in a politically precarious position and could use the Trump administration’s help.”

The only person that they interviewed from the Guatemalan government was the actual foreign minister of Guatemala, Sandra Jovel — but her quote in the Post was of no substance. Her more significant quote on the matter, notably missed by the Post, was that her country wasn’t “moving” the embassy, but “returning” it to where it was prior to 1978 . She also added that, “we have not had pressure from any country.” In other words, Guatemala recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital because that’s where it was — and her response intimated that they did it because it was the right thing to do.

The vast number of reasons given by Post reporter Joshua Partlow for these countries’ decisions can only remind us of Shakespeare’s famous quote from Hamlet: “Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.”

Kudos to Guatemala and Honduras (and the United States) for not being intimidated by the bullies of the world and media opinion. Most may not know that Guatemala has a history (like the United States) of standing up to bullies: it was one of the first countries in the world to recognize Israel as a nation in 1948. And Honduras was not far behind.

Dr. Michael Berenhaus is a contributor to the news and public policy group, Haym Salomon Center. Along with co-founding organizations that have monitored media coverage, he has been published publications such as The Economist, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. 

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