Israel Matzav

U.S. Appellate Court upholds petition on placing 'Jerusalem, Israel' on passports

Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky of Jerusalem, just 3 years old, emerged victorious last week in his battle with the U.S. administration - a small and perhaps temporary victory, but sweet nevertheless. The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld his arguments and decided to send his case back to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, so that "both sides may develop a more complete record relating to these and other subjects of dispute." The two parties are the child (and his parents, Ari and Naomi) and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

All said, the ruling is a technical one: Zivotofsky has an argument worthy of deliberation, the judges decided. Via his parents, Zivotofsky is making a simple request: He wants his U.S. passport to record him as born in "Israel," and not, as the U.S. Consulate decided, in "Jerusalem."

The U.S. administration, as a matter of policy, is not willing to confirm that U.S. citizens who were born in Jerusalem were indeed born in Israel because, as was argued by the state's representative in court, the issue is "the subject of profound dispute" and Israel's claim to sovereignty over the city has never been decided.

Two facts bear mentioning: One, the U.S. Embassy is located in Tel Aviv; and two, the passport of a U.S. citizen who is born in Jerusalem will not include the word "Israel," according to State Department regulations behind the actions of the consular officials.

Zivotofsky petitioned the court based on a law passed by Congress in 2002. Among the law's requirements, Zivotofsky is arguing, is that the secretary of state list Israel as the country of origin for U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem on passports, birth certificates and certificates of nationality. But the U.S. administration refuses to recognize this.

...

According to Zivotofsky's lawyer, Nathan Lewin, the child's right to have his passport bear the name of the country in which he was born has been violated by the state. Contrary to the original petition, in which Zivotofsky had asked for his passport to list him as born in "Jerusalem, Israel," the parties have agreed that the upcoming debate will focus on the question of whether the word "Israel" alone should be written in the document.

The judges heard the oral arguments of the parties in November, with a significant portion of the debate dedicated to the question of whether Zivotofsky had the right to sue at all. Lewin convinced the judges that his client did have the right to sue, and that the State Department's regulations had caused him "damage."

However, the Federal Appeals Court did not rule on the essential issue - the political question.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:18 PM