For immediate release:
Today, The White House issued a statement expressing its “dismay” at the decision by the City of Jerusalem Planning Committee to approve the construction of new housing units in the south Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo.
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, through its director of public policy Nathan Diament, issued the following statement:
“On matters regarding Jerusalem, the position of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, is clear – Jerusalem is the eternal and indivisible capital of Israel and the Jewish people In this context, it is also worth noting that that is the official policy of the United States as articulated in a duly enacted Act of Congress which
states:
“(a)Statement of the Policy of the United States.-
(1)Jerusalem should remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected;
(2)Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel”
“While we appreciate the efforts by the Obama Administration to delicately manuever the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table, it is the Palestinians who are proposing the radical step of bypassing those negotiations and unilaterally acting, while this approval of additional construction in a built-up section of southern Jerusalem is not a radical move.”
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