This is a follow up to my latest article: EU, Israel and the Argument about Taxes on Home Carbonating Systems Produced in Ma’ale Adumim even though the case I am talking about today may on first sight not show any links to the EU tax case one. Yet, in the end the US Court of Appeals in Washington and the German tax court in Hamburg have to decide on the same question before they ever get down to the subject of the arguments pending.
The Case of the US Court of Appeals:
A boy was born in 2002 in Jerusalem. His parents, an American couple living in Israel, applied for an American passport for their son. They stated as place of birth Jerusalem, Israel. However, in the passport the listing of Israel as state of birth was omitted. The parents filed a case on behalf of their son, demanding to name the state of Israel next to the city of Jerusalem in the passport.
The decision of the US court of appeals:
On July 10, 2009 the case was dismissed. The court upheld a lower court’s decision that the courts lack jurisdiction in the matter. In a system of separation of powers and of checks and balances questions of foreign policy belong exclusively in the domain of the executive branch and not in a court room. And according the State Department, US passports for those born in Jerusalem do not list a country because doing so would interfere with and pre-judge Israeli – Palestinian negotiations and would therefore interfere with another state’s sovereignty.
Background:
The status of Jerusalem in any final agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is still highly disputed. The question is source of even more argument and emotions on both sides than the question of how to deal with the large Jewish settlements in Samaria and Judea/ the West Bank like Ma’ale Adumim. There it is most likely – and about the only working solution considering the number of people living in the large settlements – that in the framework of a land swap deal these few settlements will become integral part of the Israeli territory.
Yet, just as the question of Jerusalem, the question of the settlements, all settlements is still a question of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Whether or not Jerusalem or any settlement belong to Israel or a future Palestinian state, will be divided, swapped, shared, internationalized or handled in any other way is a political question and only up to the Israeli government in Jerusalem and the Palestinians. These are questions to be dealt with in any other state by the executive branch and in their foreign policy departments but not in any EU or US American courtroom.
By the way, I just checked and both my Israeli and my German passport state as my place of birth Berlin, Germany. But technically, this is not the truth as I was born in East-Berlin, capital of the former GDR. Though, the legality of the claim of the East Bloc of East Berlin as capital of East Germany was disputed by the western Allies as the entire city of Berlin was formally considered an occupied territory governed by martial law through the Allied Control Council. Well, some disputes are solved by time.
Tags: Israel, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Jerusalem, passport, place of birth, state sovereignty, taxation, US Court of Appeals
