The Republic of Nauru, an island country in Micronesia, Oceania, in the Central Pacific, population 10,000, has joined the group of countries, led by the United States, that have recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Nauru’s ambassador to the United Nations, Her Excellency Marlene Inemwin Moses, visited Israel recently and attended a dinner along with Israel’s foreign minister Yisrael Katz (Likud), and was asked about the possibility of her country granting recognition to Jerusalem, Ynet reported Thursday.
Ambassador Moses said she would consult with Nauru’s president until Tuesday this week, Baron Waqa (the new president is Lionel Aingimea). A few days later, Moses announced that the president had ordered her to issue an official letter recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The official letter was sent to Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon.
Two years ago, President Waqa visited Israel and said that it was always in his heart.
Moses participated in a Pacific Ambassadors’ trip to Israel in January 2008, with a view to enhancing Micronesia’s relations with Israel.
Besides her love for Israel, Moses is known for her efforts to preserve tuna stocks in her country’s territorial waters, as well as her support for commercial whaling.
Nauru has only a handful of embassies in the world, but the Foreign Ministry considers that the tiny island country would open an embassy in Israel in the future, guess where.