A U.S. court ruled against two couples seeking to have “Jerusalem, Israel” placed as their birthplace on American passports. In a ruling Tuesday, Judge Gladys Kessler said the federal court does not have jurisdiction over the matter of how Jerusalem should be identified on federal documents. Kessler also said the couples suffered no injury from the fact that the documents read only “Jerusalem.” A 2002 law said U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem could choose to have “Jerusalem, Israel” on their passports, but President Bush, in signing the legislation, said the measure would be taken as “advisory” because it interfered with the executive branch’s jurisdiction over foreign policy. The case is expected to be appealed.
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