Supreme Court takes Zivotovsky case
On Monday, the Supreme Court granted certiorari (review) in the case of
Menachem Zivotovsky, a case I discussed on Sunday
here. This is from the first link (Hat Tip:
Stuart W).
Although the Justice Department had urged the Court not to hear the case, it granted review nevertheless. In addition to agreeing to answer whether the dispute can be decided in the courts, or is a “political question” controversy, the Court told lawyers to argue an added question: whether the 2002 law unconstitutionally “infringes the President’s power to recognize foreign sovereigns.” When President George W. Bush signed that bill into law in 2002, he made exactly that protest. The case, thus, puts before the Court a case in which it may consider the effect that a presidential “signing statement” has on judicial interpretation of an act of Congress. Mr. Bush, more than any other president, had used statements that he issued when he signed bills into law, to take exception to provisions that he and his aides thought intruded on White House powers.
The government has argued that the 2002 law will interfere with the Executive Branch’s attempts to negotiate for peace in the Middle East, because the status is a very hot topic in the area, leading the U.S. to refuse to recognize Jerusalem as formally a part of Israel.
Good luck to Menachem, his parents and his lawyers.
UPDATE WEDNESDAY 2:33 AMFor those who are interested, the petition for Menachem and his parents may be found
here (121-page pdf) and the petition for the government may be found
here (21-page pdf) (Hat Tip:
Lance K).
Labels: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Zivotovsky
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
7-year old going to Supreme Court to list Israel on his passport
The parents of 7-year old Menachem Zivotovsky have appealed to the United States Supreme Court to allow their Jerusalem-born American citizen to
list Israel as the country of his birth on his US passport.
After his birth in September 2003, the family of Menachem Zivotofsky brought suit against the U.S. government under a 2002 law that allows Americans born in Jerusalem to list the city as in "Israel."
President George W. Bush had signed the law, but stated that it was "advisory" because it interfered with the president's right to conduct foreign policy.
Alyza Lewin, a lawyer for the family, said in a news release Wednesday that the family asked the Supreme Court to review a decision last year by a U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to uphold a lower court ruling that the judiciary did not have jurisdiction in the case because the U.S. Constitution exclusively grants the power to set foreign policy and recognize foreign governments to the executive branch.
The government has until Dec. 29 to respond, Lewin said.
U.S. passports do not list a country for those born in Jerusalem because of fears that recognizing the city as Israeli would prejudge Israeli-Palestinian peace negotations.
I've discussed the Zivotovsky case previously
here and
here.
Labels: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Zivotovsky
On Monday, the Supreme Court granted certiorari (review) in the case of Menachem Zivotovsky, a case I discussed on Sunday here. This is from the first link (Hat Tip: Stuart W). 
