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OU Commends Introduction of 2009 Jerusalem Embassy Act

Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America commended Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee Ranking Member Dan Burton and House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen on the introduction of H.R. 3412, the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act of 2009. This legislation will discontinue the Presidential waiver authority contained in the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-45), immediately begin the process of relocating the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and affirm as United States policy that Jerusalem remain the undivided capital of the State of Israel. This legislation also provides timely recognition that “every citizen of Israel should have the right to reside anywhere in the undivided city of Jerusalem.”

Nathan J. Diament, director of the Union’s Institute for Public Policy stated:

This legislation puts to rest illegitimate claims to Jerusalem that have wrongly defined where Israelis can reside and what authority Israel has to govern East Jerusalem. It is time to move the US embassy in Israel to its rightful place in Jerusalem. Just as the United States locates its embassy in the duly designated capitals of other nations, so too it should locate its embassy in Israel’s recognized capital. We thank Reps. Burton and Ros-Lehtinen for their leadership on this issue.

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