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Passports, Embassies and the U.S. Supreme Court

Passports, Embassies and the U.S. Supreme Court

Source: The Washington Independent

The Israeli/Palestinian conflict, long entrenched in the Executive and Legislative branches of the American government, is finally working its way deep into the Judicial as well.

This week the Supreme Court ruled, 8-1, that the lower courts could make a decision on the issue of placing Israel as the country of birth in the passports of American children born in Jerusalem.

For a more thorough background on the proceedings, read here.

The high court itself chose not to rule on the specifics of the case, simply saying that it would be appropriate for lower courts to hear, and rule, on such cases. This decision (well, this decision approving the right of future decisions) stems from a 2002 law stating that American Jews born in Jerusalem could list Israel as their country of birth.

Congress passed this aforementioned law, but the American embassy in Tel Aviv (more on that in a moment) refused to honor it, saying that the status of Jerusalem remains unresolved.

Of course this ruling raises many questions, both real and absurd. Is Jerusalem in Israel? As long as there is a Jewish state, it will control a piece (if not the whole) of Jerusalem. Even before the Six Day War in 1967 unified the city under Jewish rule, Israel controlled a large part of the city. While many assume that the Green Line is no longer attainable as a border between two future states, even should some massive outside power decree that it be so, Israel would still control a large section of Jerusalem, and will presumably still consider it its capital city.

During arguments, Justice Sonia Sotamayor raised the following question: “What happens if there is a peace accord tomorrow, and Israel gives up any claim to sovereignty over Jerusalem?” The day that Israel gives up “any claim to sovereignty over Jerusalem” is the day that there is no more Jewish state. Should Peter Beinart be elected Prime Minister of Israel tomorrow on a platform of “peace no matter what,” Israel will still control a piece of Jerusalem. That is simply not in question. So long as their is a Jewish military and a Jewish government, there will be a Jewish presence in Jerusalem.

Barring an unthinkable military solution enacted either on, or by, the Jews of the region, the only real alternatives to the Jews controlling a part of Jerusalem would be a bi-national, one-state solution or the designation of Jerusalem as an international city. The former point would mean a diplomatic or legislative end to the Jewish state and is a non-starter for Israel. The latter point – well, most Israelis would say that this would be the equivalent of “internationalizing” New York or Washington, DC.

When this current crop of GOP Presidential candidates recently spoke to the Republican Jewish Coalition, there were several promises to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Newt Gingrich was not the first candidate running for office to make such bold promises. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush made similar promises on the campaign trail. President Obama also hinted at it. And yet the embassy remains in Tel Aviv. Israel may be the world’s only nation where virtually no other nation on earth is willing to place its embassy in their designated capital city. Currently, only two states have their embassies in Jerusalem: Costa Rica and El Salvador. Not exactly trend setters in the field of International Politics.

Israel continues to populate East Jerusalem with Jews, making the ratio in the city more and more Jewish. They are constantly expanding the infrastructure of the Jewish parts of the city. All in all, they are working very hard—and for the most part, very successfully—to make Jerusalem a Jewish city by changing the “facts on the ground.”

The irony is that the best way Israel has of legitimizing its claim of ownership of this ancient city that was home to David and Soloman and which has been the rallying cry of Jews for millennia, is to make peace with the Palestinians. Israel can hold Jerusalem indefinitely, but it cannot truly claim it. The lower courts very well may decide that an American born in Jerusalem may have Israel printed into their passport. But the question has been up in the air for ten years already, and it may take another ten before the first printing takes place. And even then, how debasing for a nation to watch its most important partner and ally hem and haw as to whether or not its capital is legitimate.

Despite promises from Newt Gingrich to the contrary, the day that Israel makes peace with the Palestinians is the day that the embassies of the world start looking for real estate in Jerusalem. And it goes without saying that the Palestinians will forgo their claims to Jerusalem about as easily as the Jews will. (In other words, never!) So it could be argued that every stone laid and every Jewish family moved from West Jerusalem to East Jerusalem, is one more step towards Jerusalem as a Jewish city, and more step away from international recognition of Jerusalem as a Jewish city.

Elie Wiesel famously wrote that “Jerusalem is above politics.” If only that were true.

Follow me on twitter @jlemonsk

 

Author

Josh Klemons

Josh Klemons has an MA in International Peace and Conflict Resolution with a concentration in the Middle East from American University. He has lived, worked and studied in Israel and done extensive traveling throughout the region. He once played music with Hadag Nachash.

He now works as a digital storyteller/strategist with brands on finding, honing and telling their stories online. Follow him on twitter @jlemonsk and check him out at www.joshklemons.com.