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Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995
Long title An act to provide for the relocation of the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial) JEA
Enacted by the
104th United States Congress
Effective November 8, 1995.
Citations
Public law 104–45
Statutes at Large 109 Stat. 398
Codification
Acts amended None
Titles amended None
U.S.C. sections created None
Legislative history
The
Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995[1] is a public law of the
United States passed by the
104th Congress on October 23, 1995. The proposed law was adopted by the
Senate (93–5),
[2] and the
House (374–37).
[3] The Act became law without a presidential signature on November 8, 1995.
The Act recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel and called for Jerusalem to remain an undivided city. Its purpose was to set aside funds for the relocation of the
Embassy of the United States in Israel from
Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem, by May 31, 1999. For this purpose it withheld 50% of the funds appropriated to the State Department specifically for "Acquisition and Maintenance of Buildings Abroad" as allocated in fiscal year 1999 until the United States Embassy in Jerusalem had officially opened.
[4] Israel's declared capital is Jerusalem, but this is not internationally recognized, pending final status talks in the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
Despite passage, the law allowed the President to invoke a six-month waiver of the application of the law, and reissue the waiver every six months on “national security” grounds. The waiver was repeatedly invoked by Presidents
Clinton,
Bush, and
Obama.
[5] President
Donald Trump signed a waiver in June 2017. On December 6, 2017, Trump
recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital,
[6] and ordered the planning of the relocation of the embassy.
[7][8] However, following the announcement, Trump signed an embassy waiver again, delaying the actual move by at least six months.
[9][10]