AICE “Myths and Facts”
Dr. Mitchell G. Bard
Does the American government recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital?
"International law makes states the sole determinants of their own capital." Nevertheless, of the 190 nations with which America has diplomatic relations, Israel is the only one whose capital is not recognized by the US government. The US embassy, like most others, is in Tel Aviv, forty miles from Jerusalem. The United States does maintain a consulate in East Jerusalem, however, that deals with Israeli Jews in Jerusalem and Palestinians in the territories. The office works independent of the embassy, reporting directly to Washington, and the consul general is not accredited to Israel. His residence is in West Jerusalem. A whole set of rules (e.g., not allowing official cars to fly the US flag in the city, and marking the birthplace of Americans born in Jerusalem as Jerusalem rather than Israel) were established to do everything possible to avoid the appearance of US legitimization of Israel's capital. The United States not only refused to locate its embassy in Jerusalem, but also pressured others not to do so.
(Continued on the Jewish Visual Library）
