Supreme court takes up status of Jerusalem

The US Supreme Court Monday decided to hear the case of anAmerican born in Jerusalem, once again taking up the sensitive issue of the status ofthe contested city.The justices will hear arguments in the case in the fall before deciding on theconstitutionality of a 2002 law that directs the State Department to give Israel as the country of birth in passports of Americans born in Jerusalem.At the center of the struggle between the Congress and the presidency is MenachemZivotofsky, who was born in Jerusalem in 2002 to two American parents.His passport says "born in Jerusalem" but his parents want Israel added to the placeof birth, putting them at odds with the State Department.Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital, but neither the United States nor theinternational community recognizes the city -- holy to three faiths -- as such.Then president George W. Bush signed the 2002 bill into law, but he added a signedstatement condemning it as unacceptable interference in the president's powers to conduct foreign policy.In March 2012, the top court ruled that the Zivotofsky suit was legally admissible,without pronouncing on the underlying issue.This time it will decide whether the president alone has the authority to say whoJerusalem belongs to, in the eyes of the United States.The Obama administration argued at a hearing in November 2011 that to list Israelas the country of birth would be tantamount to recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the country.