Supreme Court Weighs Status of Jerusalem for Passports
Supreme Court Weighs Status of Jerusalem for Passports By ADAM LIPTAK NOV. 3, 2014 Menachem Zivotofsky, whose birth in Jerusalem is at the heart of a legal case, with his father, Ari Zivotofsky. Credit Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday considered the status of Jerusalem , which Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. told the justices was “the most vexing and volatile and difficult diplomatic issue that this nation has faced for decades.” The legal question for the justices was whether Congress was entitled in a 2002 law to order the State Department to “record the place of birth as Israel” in the passports of American children born in Jerusalem if their parents asked. The answer to that question involves the separation of powers and the competing roles of Congress and the president in the conduct of foreign affairs. But the justices seemed unusually alert to the real-world consequences of...
