JERUSALEM, Oct 29 — US citizens born in Jerusalem will now be able to list Israel as their birthplace on their passports, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced today, in a nod to Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Five years ago, when Barack Obama was in the White House, the US Supreme Court struck down a law that would have let Jerusalem-born Americans list Israel on their passports as their country of birth, saying it unlawfully encroached on presidential powers to set foreign policy.
The future status of Jerusalem, a city holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians, is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2017, US President Donald Trump reversed decades of US policy and recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
In his statement today, Pompeo said the decision to allow Jerusalem-born US citizens to choose to enter Israel or Jerusalem as their birthplace was “consistent” with Trump’s 2017 proclamation. — Reuters
