President Donald Trump thanked his Guatemalan counterpart, Jimmy Morales, for his announcement that he would move Guatemala’s embassy to Jerusalem.
“President Trump thanked President Morales for supporting the United States and Israel, and for his announced decision to move the Guatemalan embassy to Jerusalem,” a White House statement said.
In early December, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announced that the United States would begin plans to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The two leaders met ahead of Trump’s appearance at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, held on Thursday morning. Since taking office in 2016, Morales, an Evangelical Christian, has been a strong supporter of Israel.
In late January, a delegation of American Jewish and Christian leaders visited with Morales in Guatemala, where they also affirmed their support for his “courageous act” regarding Jerusalem.
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, who joined the delegation to Guatemala, told JNS at the time that the visit was an important way to show the Guatemalans “that we are there for them, and that we support them.”
“It is a courageous act on their part,” he said, “and we don’t take them or it for granted.”