Jerusalem should never again be divided, President Bush told the city’s mayor, Teddy Kollek, during a White House meeting Wednesday.
The meeting was set up with prodding from the Anti-Defamation League in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification, which falls on Sunday.
Bush was asked at a photo opportunity with Kollek about U.S. policy on a reunified Jerusalem. “Our policy is very, very clear and has not changed,” the president said.
A White House statement released after the meeting stated that Bush told Kollek that “U.S. policy toward Jerusalem was unchanged, namely, that Jerusalem must never again be a divided city and that its final status should be decided by negotiations.”
During the meeting, Bush appeared to express interest in visiting Israel, though he did not indicate when he might do so.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
