Bush Debates Recognizing Israel

The Bush administration reacted harshly to a bill passed in Congress which has such outrageous provisions as restricting aid to Bush's terrorist friend Abbas, transforming military aid to Egypt into economic aid for a state whose state controlled media calls for the destruction of America and worst of all, from the standpoint of America's most senile President since Methushelah; listing Americans born in Yerushalayim as being born in Jerusalem, Israel.

As one of those people who was born in Yerushalayim this is an issue that matters to me, not because it's a stamp on a piece of paper but because of what it really stands for. Consider this quote from the administration's objections.

“The permanent status of Jerusalem is a volatile issue with sensitivities throughout the region and needs to be resolved by the parties,” the statement said. “The president has stated that such provisions impermissibly interfere with his constitutional authority to formulate the position of the United States, speak for the nation in international affairs, and determine the terms on which recognition is given to foreign states.”

Somehow simply accepting that an individual born in a city that was the historical capital of Israel and has functioned undeniably as the current capital of Israel for nearly four decades is controversial. But more than is that Bush is stating here that this issue goes to the 'terms on which Israel is recognized' which suggests that the process of recognizing Israel remains incomplete as far as America is concerned and that the failure to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital is a matter of determining a recognition of Israel that has not yet occured.