Image of Trump and Cyrus on a Symbolic Silver Coin in Israel

An image of Donald Trump and Cyrus the Great side by side on a coin, minted with Hebrew and English phrases by the Temple organizations in Jerusalem; the reason?: The belief that Cyrus the Great and Trump, despite a historical gap of 2,557 years between them, have played the same role in safeguarding Jerusalem for the Jews. Cyrus the Great, in 539 BC, enabled the return of exiled Jews to their homeland in the land of Israel, then known as Canaan, by conquering Babylon; and Donald Trump recently recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. For Jews like Professor Weiss and Rabbi Persop in the Temple organizations in Jerusalem, the 2,557-year gap is a historical parenthesis, and Cyrus the Great and Donald Trump are 'wise leaders of history who should be honored.' The Temple organizations in Jerusalem decided to mint a coin in gratitude to Mr. Trump, who emphasized three months ago that the life of Jews in Jerusalem is a historical fact that must be accepted, to commemorate this action of the U.S. President. According to Israeli media, the Temple organizations wanted to remind everyone of the sanctity of Cyrus the Great for the Jews by minting this special coin. Based on Jewish beliefs and historical writings, Cyrus the Great, when the vast Persian Empire was in power, freed Jews who had been exiled from the Holy Land and forcibly taken to Babylon after Iran's dominance over Babylon, and returned them along with the treasures plundered from the Jews with a caravan of Iranian forces to Jerusalem, ensuring that the Jewish Temple would be rebuilt and the treasures placed within it. Jews honor Cyrus the Great in their prayers and consider him sacred, while the term 'sacred' is not even used for Moses and other Jewish prophets in ancient Jewish texts. The United States has announced that it will soon move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after seventy years. Although Palestinians have expressed strong anger over this, and part of the international community has criticized this U.S. policy, Mr. Trump's administration has emphasized that the recognition of Jerusalem and the embassy move is irreversible. The 'Temple Coin' featuring the images of Donald Trump and Cyrus the Great contains nine and a half grams of pure silver, and on the back of the coin, the image of the Jewish Temple can be seen. The date of May 14 has also been set for the official opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem; a date when Harry Truman, the then U.S. President, recognized the existence of this country just a few hours after David Ben-Gurion, the leader of the Jewish struggle for independence, announced the establishment of Israel seventy years ago. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, stated on December 15, after Mr. Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, that this action of the U.S. President is on par with Cyrus the Great's historical action regarding Jerusalem. The 'Temple Coin' featuring Donald Trump and Cyrus the Great contains nine and a half grams of pure silver; on it, in English, are the four words Cyrus, Balfour, Trump, Declaration 2018, and in Hebrew, the phrase 'Cyrus-Balfour-Trump Declaration' and the current Hebrew year 5778 can be seen. On the back of the coin, the image of the Jewish Temple and the phrase 'For the salvation of a united Jerusalem' is inscribed, and it is symbolically noted that the coin is equivalent to 'half a shekel'; 'shekel' has been the currency of the Jews and Israel from ancient times to the present. The reference to Balfour on this coin is a reminder of Lord Arthur James Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary in 1917, who supported the Jewish struggle for a homeland in a letter; a 67-word letter that has been referred to as the 'Balfour Declaration' for the past 101 years. The inclusion of the phrase '2018 Declaration' creates an implicit similarity between the 'Balfour Declaration' and the U.S. action of recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem in May 2018, although Mr. Trump's declaration recognizing Jerusalem was on December 7, 2017. Professor Weiss, head of the Temple organizations, states that with this coin, we want to honor the good leaders of the world, but in our view, Mr. Trump should enable Jews to rebuild their sacred Temple in its original historical location; referring to the site where the Al-Aqsa and Omar mosques were built in past centuries. The producers of the Trump-Cyrus coin say that many people, especially outside of Israel, have requested to purchase this commemorative coin. Although Israelis can buy this coin for one hundred shekels, equivalent to 28 dollars, its price for interested parties abroad has been set at fifty dollars; sales are conducted online, and proceeds will go to the Temple and religious activities in Jerusalem. The Israeli Post also published a stamp commemorating Cyrus the Great three years ago, one type of which, made with pure 24-carat gold for valuable gifts, is still on sale. Perhaps if this stamp were published today, the image of Donald Trump would also appear alongside Cyrus.