Court Case About Status of Jerusalem Decided

Summary of Article: The Zivotofsky family, American citizens, had a son in Jerusalem. They named him Menachem and went to the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem to have "Jerusalem, Israel" put on his birth certificate. This was consistent with a federal law passed in Congress, signed by President George W. Bush, ordering the State Dept to list "Jerusalem, Israel" as the birthplace of U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem. The U.S. Embassy/State Department refused the Zivotofskys, saying that it wouldn't recognize Jerusalem as part of Israel because it wanted to remain neutral on who controls Jerusalem. The Zivotofskys sued in the United States.

The case has gone through the courts for the last 10 years, up to the Supreme Court (where it ruled that the case could proceed) and now back down to the lower courts. On Tuesday, the lower court just struck down the law, finding for the White House position. The White House said it interfered with the U.S. position on who controls Jerusalem and U.S. history of neutrality. (Keep in mind that the State Dept has a long history of being unsympathetic to Israel; sympathy for Israel in the White House depends on who is president.) While this impacts passports, the decision actually focused on who has the authority to choose which foreign governments are legitimate: the White House or Congress. The lower court chose the White House. The case will likely return to the Supreme Court.