JERUSALEM EMBASSY ACT OF 1995
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ45/html/PLAW-104publ45.htmPublic Law 104-45
104th Congress
An Act
To provide for the relocation of the United States Embassy in Israel to
Jerusalem, and for other purposes. <<NOTE: Nov. 8, 1995 - [S. 1322]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Jerusalem
Embassy Act of 1995. Foreign relations.>>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Each sovereign nation, under international law and
custom, may designate its own capital.
(2) Since 1950, the city of Jerusalem has been the capital
of the State of Israel.
(3) The city of Jerusalem is the seat of Israel's President,
Parliament, and Supreme Court, and the site of numerous
government ministries and social and cultural institutions.
(4) The city of Jerusalem is the spiritual center of
Judaism, and is also considered a holy city by the members of
other religious faiths.
(5) From 1948-1967, Jerusalem was a divided city and Israeli
citizens of all faiths as well as Jewish citizens of all states
were denied access to holy sites in the area controlled by
Jordan.
(6) In 1967, the city of Jerusalem was reunited during the
conflict known as the Six Day War.
(7) Since 1967, Jerusalem has been a united city
administered by Israel, and persons of all religious faiths have
been guaranteed full access to holy sites within the city.
(8) This year marks the 28th consecutive year that Jerusalem
has been administered as a unified city in which the rights of
all faiths have been respected and protected.
(9) In 1990, the Congress unanimously adopted Senate
Concurrent Resolution 106, which declares that the Congress
``strongly believes that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city
in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are
protected''.
(10) In 1992, the United States Senate and House of
Representatives unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution
113 of the One Hundred Second Congress to commemorate the 25th
anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, and reaffirming
congressional sentiment that Jerusalem must remain an undivided
city.
(11) The September 13, 1993, Declaration of Principles on
Interim Self-Government Arrangements lays out a timetable for
the resolution of ``final status'' issues, including Jerusalem.
(12) The Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area
was signed May 4, 1994, beginning the five-year transitional
period laid out in the Declaration of Principles.
(13) In March of 1995, 93 members of the United States
Senate signed a letter to Secretary of State Warren Christopher
encouraging ``planning to begin now'' for relocation of the
United States Embassy to the city of Jerusalem.
(14) In June of 1993, 257 members of the United States House
of Representatives signed a letter to the Secretary of State
Warren Christopher stating that the relocation of the United
States Embassy to Jerusalem ``should take place no later than .
. . 1999''.
(15) The United States maintains its embassy in the
functioning capital of every country except in the case of our
democratic friend and strategic ally, the State of Israel.
(16) The United States conducts official meetings and other
business in the city of Jerusalem in de facto recognition of its
status as the capital of Israel.
(17) In 1996, the State of Israel will celebrate the 3,000th
anniversary of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem since King
David's entry....
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Noteworthy developments since the passage of the Act and well past the initial May 31, 1999 deadline's expiration:
Of the 22 Presidential Determinations to suspend the limitations that have been issued between 1998 and the fall of 2009, only the Bush era issuances, the bulk of the determinations to date, included the wording:
::"[The current] Administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our embassy to Jerusalem";
…while President Obama's issuances mirror the wording first used by President Clinton.
Section 214 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, FY 2003 states:
::"The Congress maintains its commitment to relocating the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and urges the President [...] to immediately begin the process of relocating the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem".