In anticipation of the meeting between President Obama and PM Netanyahu

In anticipation of the upcoming meeting between US President Obama and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, JStreet distributed the attached flyer, with the following introduction:

On the eve of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, more and more prominent Israelis are calling for recognizing a Palestinian state now and for negotiating with that state to achieve peace and security. They are calling it an “existential Israeli interest.”

Today, they ran unprecedented ads in Israeli papers making their case, signed by 18 retired generals and 27 winners of the prestigious Israel Prize, among others.
Their effort could not be coming at a more important time for Israel and the region.


With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing a joint meeting of Congress on Tuesday and President Obama laying out his own Middle East strategy in a speech tomorrow, we've got to make sure decision makers in America, in Israel, and in the Palestinian territories hear their message loud and clear.

 

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US Supreme Court Decides to Hear Case Concerning Jerusalem Birth

The third branch of the US government decided to get involved in the ongoing dispute between Congress and the Executive Office concerning the status of Jerusalem. Can an American citizen born in Jerusalem officially claim to have been born in Israel? Yes, says Congress. No says the Secretary of State. Here are some legal details concerning this case, as submitted to "Unholycity" by Prof. Pnina Lahav (BU LAW):
 
• M.B.Z. v. Clinton, No. 10-699. Does the "political question doctrine" deprive a federal court of jurisdiction to enforce a federal statute that directs the secretary of state how to record the birthplace of a Jerusalem-born American citizen on a Consular Report of Birth Abroad and on a passport? Also, does Section 214 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003, impermissibly infringe the president's power to recognize foreign sovereigns? Section 214 provides a congressional statement of policy with respect to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and specifically provides in subsection (d) that the secretary of state shall, upon a citizen's or guardian's request, record the birthplace of a U.S. citizen born in Jerusalem, for purposes of registering or certifying the birth or issuing a passport, record the place of birth as Israel.