United States Policy on Jerusalem, 1948 (original) (raw)

The Jerusalem Basic Law (1980) and the Jerusalem Embassy Act (1995): A comparative investigation of Israeli and US legislation on the status of Jerusalem

This essay, written from a religious studies perspective, compares two pieces of largely symbolic legislation, the Israeli 1980 Jerusalem Basic Law and the US 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, situating them in their respective historical context and raising questions about the dynamic of legislative acts that exceed the intention of both, those who introduced these bills and the legislators who passed them into law. I argue that these laws indicate the power of broadly shared public sentiments in modern politics and policy-making, a power that has the potential of overwhelming more pragmatic and cautious approaches to public law.

Jerusalem (and the Holy Places): How a stillborn plan to demilitarize and internationalize holy places became an enduring political and diplomatic gambit centered on Jerusalem 1

2017

Presented in 2015 and circulated but not published in 2017, This paper analyzed the origins of the plan to protect the then-threatened Holy Places in the 1940s and its subsequent transformation into a foreign policy tool of the Department of State, including relevant analysis of the two United States Supreme Court rulings regarding the Jerusalem Passport cases. Ultimately, it argued that it would be a mistake to merely accept the State Department’s now-formervposition that its policy had been entirely ‘consistent;’ the consistency lay in the State Department’s attempts – however objectively misguided they may or may not be – to achieve its perceived foreign policy goals, which must be objectively analyzed accordingly. Written, presented and circulated before the US government determined to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.

The Us Recognition of Jerusalem: Aspects and Implications

2021

The status of Jerusalem lies at the heart of Palestine-Israel conundrum. Its disputed status is pelagus forsit for the resolution of the intractable Palestine conflict. The Palestinians have always regarded Eastern Jerusalem as capital of their future state under Two-nation solution. On the other side, Israel declared in 1998 to further expand Jerusalem by annexing the surrounding areas as well. This paper investigates the Trump administration's stance on relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, its implications for Palestinian state and broad reactions of the world community.

The Position of the American Administrations on the Issue of Jerusalem (1948-2017)

2019

President Donald Trump’s decision on December 6, 2017 to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and his directives to transfer the U.S embassy to there, have signaled a sudden shift in the American adopted and declared policy towards the Arab-Israeli conflict. This decision is considered as one of the most dangerous regarding the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. This study examines the attitude of the American administrations towards the city of Jerusalem by monitoring the historical roots and studying their developments, through using the documents issued by American presidents from 1948 to 2017. It also analyses President Trump’s motives to move forward in the announcement of this decision. The study has concluded that the US administrations dealt with the issue of Jerusalem from the point of view of management rather than resolution and that the United States of America has deviated from its course and position on the issue of Jerusalem, in accordance with maintaining the str...

ROLE OF THE RELIGIOUS ELEMENT IN THE US POLICY TOWARDS JERUSALEM DILEMMA 1967-2000

The study aimed at rooting the relation between Jewish and Christianity to prove the importance and role of the religious element in forming and directing the US policy towards Jerusalem issue. This is in addition to the impact of this element on US community values and beliefs; which genuinely believes that Jewish return to Palestine is the necessary pre-step for the return of the anticipated Jesus (Masseih). Besides, there are many similarities between establishing both the US homeland and Israel since both depends on invading others' lands and evacuating the original people from their land alleging the spiritual right and settling on Promised Land. Pursuing the approaches of successive US administrations, during the research period, the study concluded that USA presidents and their administrations, based on greatly religious beliefs, had prevented the issuance of many international resolutions condemning the Israeli occupation of east Jerusalem and requiring withdrawal. They sought to end UN role in solving Jerusalem issue and leaving power balances to be the main determiner of Palestinian-Israeli negations' results concerning Jerusalem future. These balances are unfair as they bias to the American –supported

What we talk about when we talk about Jerusalem: The duty of non-recognition and the prospects for peace after the US embassy’s relocation to the Holy City

Leiden Journal of International Law, 2020

The article addresses the legality of the relocation of the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in light of the duty of non-recognition and the international consensus on the two-state solution. Analysing the massive reaction of states to the United States administration’s decision, the article takes stock of the practice on the status of Jerusalem and on the Israeli-Palestinian issue more broadly. The authors conclude that the almost unanimous negative reaction of states and their commitment to the two-state solution will remain a dead letter if the solution to the crisis is left to a future bilateral agreement.

Policy Strategies of Accommodation or Domination in Jerusalem: An Historical Perspective

With an age of some 4.000 years, Jerusalem is one of the world's oldest cities. Although there have been numerous changes in regime, prominent issues confronting the present city resemble those of times past, and certain continuities can be found in the policy strategies pursued by those who have governed Jerusalem. This article compares the strategy of the present regime with those apparent in previous periods from the sixth century BC. Continuities in political geography have contributed something to the similarities in policy strategies over the years. Jerusalem's current population of about 540.000 dwarfs the city that peaked at about 30,000 in late biblical times and again under the Crusaders, and topped that figure only during the last half-century of the Ottoman period.' As always, however, the city sits on a strategic site, on the border of competing cultures, and is prized for its symbolic importance by powerful outsiders. It is astride a mountain ridge that controls north-south traffic, and alongside passes that control east-west travel. The country called Judea, Palestine, or Israel has been an important area on the borders of empires, prized for its routes used in commerce or attack, or defense against attacks from other empires. It was to the north of Egypt, south of Assyria, east of Greece and Rome, and west of Babylon and Persia. More recently, Britain and then the United States have viewed Palestine or Israel as an asset in their international strategies. Jerusalem and its hinterland have never had a population large enough or wealthy enough to assure their own security. By one account Jerusalem has been besieged and conquered 37 times. 2 It has been controlled by Canaanites,

TOWARDS A TALE OF TWO CITIES: WEST JERUSALEM AND INTERNATIONAL LAW IN 21ST CENTURY

Law and Justice Review 22, 2021

This article aims at analysing the long-standing debate on Jerusalem rekindled by the decision on relocation of U.S. Embassy while taking into account the legal framework behind the division of Jerusalem into East and West sectors. Recent state practices through international organisations such as UN and OIC imply that the idea of corpus separatum (independent and international city) is abandoned in order to secure two-state solution based on 1967 borders. Noting that no firm and persistent objection have been raised for the status of West Jerusalem, potential legal ramifications of the stances that states take on the future of West Jerusalem will be evaluated herein from an international law perspective in the light of Judgments of International Court of Justice and UN and OIC Resolutions.

Jerusalem As The Capital Of Israel; International And Regional Repercussions On Relocation Of The United States Embassy

2018

Middle East retains great strategic, economic, military and political significance in the global order. The region is abounded with energy resources upto two third of the world"s total oil production. The area has certain domestic and regional conflicts between the states which has serious implication to the rest of the world. Arab-Israel conflict or Israel-Palestinian conflict is not a new phenomenon. Roots and causes of this skirmishing issue can be traced hundred years back in the famous British agreement titled as The Balford Declaration 1917. However, presently, the world has witnessed the historical and most controversial move of United States embassy to Jerusalem. One of the US president election campaign promise became true after this event, however, the consequences of the same will be illuminated within due course of time. The article aims to sort out the repercussions of recognizing Jerusalem as sole capital of Israel and its impact on US relations with the Muslim wo...