Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act of 2011

The “Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act of 2011” (H.R. 1006) has
been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN).
It has the bi-partisan support of 21 other members of Congress. This act
restates existing U.S. law (Public Law 104-45) which was first passed by
overwhelming majorities in the House (374-37) and Senate (93-5) as the
“Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.” Thus the Jerusalem Embassy and
Recognition Act of 2011 states that it is U.S. policy:

• To recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel;

and

• That the United States Embassy in Israel should be moved to Jerusalem

not later than January 1, 2013.

Every six months the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations have
invoked the waiver clause of the original 1995 legislation to avoid
implementing this law.

This current bill:

• Amends the original 1995 bill to eliminate the President's authority to

waive certain funding limitations for Department of State acquisition
and maintenance of buildings abroad until the U.S. Embassy in
Jerusalem has officially opened; and

• Requires any official U.S. document which lists countries and their
capital cities to identify Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

ACTION

 HOUSE: Urge your Representatives to cosponsor this vital

legislation. Thank them if they have already done so.
 SENATE: Urge your Senators to introduce companion
legislation in the Senate.

Talking Points:

Countries which are opposed to Israel have interpreted the U.S. refusal to
move the embassy to Jerusalem as a lack of legitimacy for Israel’s claim to
the ancient city. United States actions must not give legitimacy to
illegitimate claims by countries around the world regarding Jerusalem. The
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US must move its embassy to Israel’s capitol city, Jerusalem, just as the US
has its embassy in the capitol city for every other country it has relations
with.

• United Jerusalem is the religious and historical capital of the Jewish

people and of the Jewish State of Israel;
• Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Jewish holy books; It is
not mentioned even once in the Koran, nor is it even mentioned in the
PLO Charter;
• Jews throughout the world pray facing Jerusalem; Muslims face Mecca
when praying;
• Jerusalem is the holiest city in the Jewish faith and is the spiritual and
political capital of the Jewish people. Judaism’s holiest places, the
Temple Mount and the Western Wall are in eastern Jerusalem;
• Jerusalem has NEVER been the capitol of any other nation except
Israel. Nor has it ever been a holy city to the Muslims. No Arab ruler
other than Jordan’s King Hussein ever even visited Jerusalem during
the 1948-1967 period of unfettered Jordanian rule over the eastern
part of the city.
• The eastern section of Jerusalem is in fact the ancient city of
Jerusalem. When the Bible discusses Jerusalem, it is talking about the
area now called “East Jerusalem.” Western Jerusalem is the recently
built portion of the city. Jerusalem must remain united.
• Under Muslim rule, from 1948 to 1967, Jews could not visit or worship
in Jerusalem, and Christians’ ability to visit and worship was
dramatically restricted.
• Religious freedom is granted and guaranteed to all by the State of
Israel.
• Under Arab rule, over 70% of Jerusalem’s Christians were forced to flee
the city because of Arab persecution.

When the eastern half of the city was under Jordanian Arab control from
1948 to 1967
• The Western Wall of the Temple Mount was turned into a garbage
dump;
• 58 Jewish synagogues were dynamited and destroyed;
• The Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, the oldest and
largest in the world, was destroyed. The gravesite stones were
used for roads and latrines by the Jordanian Arabs.
• Eastern Jerusalem was turned into a slum, with virtually no running
water, plumbing, and electricity

Majority of the people living in Jerusalem since the mid-1800s have been
Jews. The world’s most famous travel guide, Baedekers of Germany,
published a 1906 edition stating that there were 60,000 people in Jerusalem
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• 40,000 Jews
• 13,000 Christians
• Only 7000 were Moslems

Security experts concur that that the security of western Jerusalem cannot
be maintained if the PA controls eastern Jerusalem.

It is imperative that Congress pass this law to ensure that the relocation of
the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem proceed without delay.