Page - 145 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/01

on lies will crash on the rocks of Middle Eastern reality. You can only build peace on truth, and the truth is that Jerusalem has been and will always be the capital of the Jewish people, the capital of the Jewish state. [Applause] Truth, peace and justice – as our Justice here, Hanan Melcer, can attest – truth, peace and justice, this is what we have, and this is what we believe in. The prophet Zecha- riah declared over 2,500 years ago, [Hebrew] “So said the Lord, ‘I will return to Zion and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth.’” May the opening of this embassy in this city spread the truth far and wide, and may the truth advance a lasting peace between Israel and all our neighbors. God bless the United States of America and God bless Jerusalem, the eternal, undivided capital of Israel.49 The concept of an “eternal truth” – that Jerusalem is forever the inseparable capital of Israel – is here deeply bound in with the city itself. Jerusalem is the “city of truth”, as, again, the Bible proves. Recognition of this eternal truth must lead to peace, so the event being celebrated can only be beneficial. No explanation is given of how the embassy might contribute to peace, an absence all the more striking as many expect the opposite. The Palestinians are almost never mentioned in the speeches, and certainly not in relation to their claim to Jerusalem. Within the ceremony, no reference is made to the conflict about Jerusalem, with the relocation of the embassy framed in the speeches exclusively in positive terms. The veiling of the Palestinians and their claims during the ceremony denies their existence. Performative and Medial Representation Levels We turn now to the staging of the ceremony, looking at aspects such as its struc- ture, timing, location and music, and at its medial representation. How does the raw material of the speeches become ceremony or, indeed, religious ritual? How does the audience view the events depicted on their screens and why? On the performative level, we first consider the symbolic significance of the time and place selected for the ceremony (and for the embassy). The ceremony was held on Israel’s 70th Independence Day and on the border (“green line”) that divided Jerusalem before 1967. Both time and place speak of Israel’s authority and power over the Palestinians. The speeches given by the religious figures came at the start and end of the ceremony. Sermon-like and prayer-like, these speeches are reminis- cent of a church service and forge the ceremony as religious ritual. 49 TIME 2018, (01: 06:25–01:08:02). 144 | Hannah Griese www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 127–151