Israel Matzav

US Supreme Court to decide whether to hear Zivotovsky case on Monday

You will recall the case of Menachem Zivotovsky, now nearly eight years old, whose parents want his birthplace listed on his US passport as "Jerusalem, Israel," as provided in US law. I have discussed the case previously here, here and here.

As soon as Monday, the US Supreme Court may issue a ruling in Menachem's petition for certiorari, thereby determining whether Menachem will get his day in (Supreme) Court, or whether the lower court ruling declining to interfere in the State Department's handling of the case will stand (Hat Tip: Lance K).

Had Menachem been born in Tel Aviv, the State Department would have issued a passport listing his place of birth as Israel. The regular practice for recording the birth of a U.S. citizen abroad is to list the country where it occurred.

But the department's guide tells consular officials, "For a person born in Jerusalem, write Jerusalem as the place of birth in the passport."

Ever since President Harry S. Truman recognized Israel upon its declaration of nationhood in 1948, no president has accepted permanent Israeli rule of the entirety of Jerusalem.

In 1995, Congress essentially adopted the Israeli position, saying the U.S. should recognize a united Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Shortly before Menachem's birth, lawmakers passed new provisions urging the president to take steps to move the embassy to Jerusalem and allowing Americans born in Jerusalem to have their place of birth listed as Israel.

The measures were part of a large foreign affairs bill that President George W. Bush signed into law. But even as he did so, Bush issued a signing statement in which he said that "U.S. policy regarding Jerusalem has not changed."

The case is Zivotofsky v. Clinton, 10-699.

Mrs. Carl and I have a personal stake in this case. Six of them in fact. Children # 5, 6, 7 and 8 were all born in Jerusalem in 1994, 1999, 2002 and 2004. And Grandchildren 1 and 2 via Daughter # 1 Child # 1 were born in Jerusalem in 2008 and 2010.

Labels: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Zivotovsky

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:32 PM