— The Senate this week passed a resolution calling on the Bush administration to honor the 25th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, winning praise from Jewish organizations.
The non-binding measure, introduced by Sens. Bob Packwood, (R-Ore.), and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, (D-N.Y.), asked the administration to pledge its support for the principle that the city should remain undivided.
Only a few weeks ago, President Bush told Jerusalem’s mayor, Teddy Kollek, “Jerusalem must never again be a divided city (but) its final status should be decided by negotiations.”
The measure passed on Wednesday also condemned the recent adoption of two resolutions by the United Nations Security Council, with U.S. endorsement, which designated Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory.
The U.N. resolutions “raised understandable concern in Israel that Jerusalem might one day be redivided and access to religious sites in Jerusalem denied,” the Senate measure said.
“Such concerns inhibit and complicate the search for a lasting peace in the Middle East,” it said.
LETTER ON RESOLUTION 194
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations hailed the resolution, which also has been introduced in the House of Representatives.
“The Senate resolution is a clear and cogent call on the administration to publicly declare its recognition that Jerusalem must never again be divided and that it is not ‘occupied Palestinian territory,’ ” said Shoshana Cardin, chairman of the conference.
“U.S. endorsement of such language in U.N. resolutions disserves the cause of peace, encourages Arab dreams of regaining Jerusalem, raises understandable fears in Israel and undermines confidence in our country’s Middle East policy,” Cardin said.
The Senate action on Jerusalem comes just weeks after the State Department unnerved Israel and pro-Israel Americans when its spokeswoman, Margaret Tutwiler, declared U.S. support for U.N. Resolution 194. That resolution, passed during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, calls for the repatriation of Palestinians to Israel and for the internationalization of Jerusalem.
State Department officials later backtracked, saying the issues should be resolved through direct negotiations by the parties involved.
That equivocation did not satisfy Sens. Joseph Lieberman, (D-Conn.), and Slade Gorton, (R-Wash.) They are circulating a letter about it to their Senate colleagues which they plan to send to Secretary of State James Baker within the next 10 days, said a senior Lieberman staffer.
The letter calls on the administration “to clear up the misperceptions” generated by the remarks “by stating forthrightly the rejection of both controversial provisions,” said the staffer, who refused to release the letter.
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.
