Bush Signs Bill Recognizing Jerusalem As Capital of Israel
Julie Stahl
Jerusalem Bureau Chief
Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - President Bush has signed a bill directing him to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. One analyst sees the legislation as an attempt by Congress to "whittle away" at the State Department's policy on Jerusalem.
The State Department insists that the status of Jerusalem should be decided in "permanent status" talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
President Bush campaigned on a promise to begin the process of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem - something that Israel fervently desires.
But since becoming president, Bush has followed the State Department's advice that recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital would inflame the Arab world.
Arabs claim the eastern part of the Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. The Israelis, however, insist that Jerusalem is their indivisible, eternal capital.
The provisions on Jerusalem are included in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for 2003. The bill includes more than $4 billion to run State Department.
President Bush could have vetoed the bill directing him to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, but to keep diplomacy operating, he signed it - clearly spelling out his reservations.
In signing the bill, President Bush included a three-page letter that added qualifying statements to more than 10 sections. One of his main complaints is that Congress is interfering with his presidential authority to conduct foreign affairs.
"Section 214, concerning Jerusalem, impermissibly interferes with the President's constitutional authority to conduct the Nation's foreign affairs and to supervise the unitary executive branch," the President wrote.
"If construed as mandatory rather than advisory, [it would] impermissibly interfere with the President's constitutional authority to formulate the position of the United States, speak for the Nation in international affairs, and determine the terms on which recognition is given to foreign states. U.S. policy regarding Jerusalem has not changed," he said.
The bill addresses three items involving Jerusalem.
First, it demands that the U.S. Consulate in eastern Jerusalem (which deals with Palestinian affairs) be placed under the authority of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. Right now, it reports directly to the State Department.
Second, the bill requires any U.S. government document listing countries and their capitals to identify Jerusalem as capital of Israel.
And finally, it also gives U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem the right to demand that their place of birth be registered as Israel on official documents such as passports, birth certificates and nationality certifications. Currently no country is designated for U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem.
David Parsons, currently a spokesman for the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, was an attorney in Washington when he drafted the first version of the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, which required the U.S. to move its embassy to Jerusalem by May of 1999.
Former President Bill Clinton and President Bush, both of whom campaigned on a promise to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, have avoided doing so by invoking a special security waiver every six months.
Parsons said this week's bill was another effort by Congress to change State Department policy on Jerusalem -- a process that has been going on since the mid-1980s.
"Congress is trying to whittle away at the State Department's absurd policy on Jerusalem," said Parsons.
According to Parsons, the basic State Department position is that Jerusalem should remain united but that it is negotiable.
Nevertheless, Washington has a de facto recognition of the western part of the city as the seat of the Israeli government in that the U.S. ambassador meets Israeli officials here, he said.
The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem were working as usual on Tuesday and said there would be no changes in their status.
"There are a lot of [the provisions] that we like and there are some things which the President considers unconstitutional," a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv said on Tuesday.
"The consulate in Jerusalem will continue to be an independent post reporting directly to the State Department's department of Near Eastern Affairs," said the spokesman who asked not to be named.
He added that the U.S. position on Jerusalem - that its future must be worked out in final status talks - remains unchanged.
As usual, Israel had no comment on the legislation, saying it was an internal American affair. Palestinian officials were unavailable for comment.
Jerusalem was reunited under Israeli rule as a result of the 1967 Six-Day war. Israel claims the entire city as its indivisible, eternal capital.
The Palestinians want the eastern section of the city, which was under Jordanian rule from 1948-1967, to become the capital of a future independent Palestinian state.
Most countries do not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and only three countries maintain embassies here.
Jerusalem nevertheless remains the seat of Israel's government. More than a dozen countries withdrew their embassies from Jerusalem when it enshrined its claims to the whole city in a law in 1980.
