Jerusalem-born Americans can now list 'Israel' on passports
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that US citizens born in Jerusalem can now elect to list "Israel" as their birthplace on consular documents.
In a break with decades of US policy, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Thursday that American citizens born in Jerusalem may now list “Israel” as their place of birth on their passports.
“Effective immediately, the State Department will allow US citizens born in Jerusalem to elect to list their place of birth as ‘Israel,’” Pompeo said in a statement Thursday.
Under the new guidance on passports, US citizens born in Jerusalem can request either “Jerusalem” or “Israel” be listed as their place of birth on consular documents. If applicants do not specify, their documents will continue to reflect their place of birth as “Jerusalem,” the statement said.
Longstanding US policy has held that the status of Jerusalem — a fiercely contested city sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity — should be decided as part of future negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.
