I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4718 

To recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to transfer to Jerusalem 

the United States Embassy located in Tel Aviv. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 21, 2017 

Mr. DESANTIS (for himself, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. 

FARENTHOLD, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. ROKITA, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. PITTENGER, Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia, Mrs. 

WALORSKI, Ms. MCSALLY, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, Mr. YOHO, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. ROTHFUS, Mr. MESSER, Mr. 

ZELDIN, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. DONOVAN, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. FERGUSON, and Mrs. BLACKBURN) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to transfer to Jerusalem the United States Embassy located 

in Tel Aviv. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recognition of Jeru5 salem as the Capital of the State of Israel Act’’. 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4718 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) For more than 3,000 years, the Jewish peo4 ple have maintained a continuous connection and 

5 presence in the land of Israel and their eternal and 

6 indivisible capital city of Jerusalem. 

7 (2) The State of Israel was established on May 

8 14, 1948, in the wake of World War II in order to 

9 serve as a homeland and place of refuge for the Jew10 ish people. 

11 (3) From 1948 to 1967, Jerusalem was a di12 vided city and not all Israeli citizens of all faiths 

13 were entitled to visit the holy sites, and Jews from 

14 other countries were restricted in their access to holy 

15 sites in the area controlled by Jordan. In 1967, the 

16 city of Jerusalem was reunited during the conflict 

17 known as the Six Day War, and since 1967, Jeru18 salem has been a unified city administered by Israel, 

19 and persons of all faiths have been guaranteed full 

20 access to the holy sites within the city. 

21 (4) On July 31, 1988, Jordan relinquished its 

22 disputed sovereignty claims to Judea and Samaria 

23 and East Jerusalem, and therefore sovereign claims 

24 to these areas remain ‘‘disputed’’, not ‘‘occupied’’. 

25 (5) In 1990, Congress unanimously adopted 

26 Senate Concurrent Resolution 106, which declares 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4718 IH

1 that Congress ‘‘strongly believes that Jerusalem 

2 must remain an undivided city in which the rights 

3 of every ethnic religious group are protected’’. 

4 (6) In 1995, Congress overwhelmingly approved 

5 the Jerusalem Embassy Act (Public Law 104–45), 

6 requiring the establishment of the United States 

7 Embassy in Jerusalem not later than May 31, 1999. 

8 (7) The United States maintains its embassy in 

9 the functioning capital in every country except in the 

10 State of Israel. 

11 (8) Israel has far exceeded the 1907 Hague 

12 Regulation as directed by international law. Israel 

13 has taken all measures to restore and ensure public 

14 order and safety in Jerusalem. 

15 (9) Jerusalem has been far safer and more pro16 tected under Israel’s administration than under any 

17 previous authorities. 

18 (10) Civil life is entirely present in Jerusalem, 

19 and all government institutions and related frame20 works are also present, including the Knesset, the 

21 Bank of Israel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 

22 Prime Minister’s and President’s offices, and the 

23 Supreme Court. 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 4718 IH

1 SEC. 3. RECOGNITION OF JERUSALEM AS THE CAPITAL OF 

2 ISRAEL AND RELOCATION OF THE UNITED 

3 STATES EMBASSY FROM TEL AVIV TO JERU4 SALEM. 

5 (a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States to 

6 recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State 

7 of Israel, both de jure and de facto. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that— 

10 (1) the United States should recognize the sov11 ereign status of an undivided Jerusalem as the cap12 ital of the State of Israel; 

13 (2) recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of 

14 Israel and transferring the United States Embassy 

15 to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv will send a signal of 

16 United States commitment and resolve to Israel; 

17 (3) the President and the Secretary of State 

18 should publicly affirm as a matter of United States 

19 policy that Jerusalem must remain the undivided 

20 capital of the State of Israel; 

21 (4) the President should immediately implement 

22 the provisions of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 

23 1995 (Public Law 104–45), as amended by section 

24 4 of this Act, and begin the process of relocating the 

25 United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem; and 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 4718 IH

1 (5) United States officials should refrain from 

2 any actions that contradict United States law on 

3 this subject. 

4 (c) IDENTIFICATION OF JERUSALEM ON GOVERN5 MENT DOCUMENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provi6 sion of law, any official document of the United States 

7 Government which lists countries and their capital cities 

8 shall identify Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. 

9 (d) RELOCATION.—Not later than January 1, 2019, 

10 the President shall relocate the United States Embassy 

11 in Israel to Jerusalem. 

12 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO THE JERUSALEM EMBASSY ACT OF 

13 1995. 

14 (a) REPEAL.—Subject to subsection (b) of this sec15 tion, section 7 of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 is 

16 repealed. 

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The repeal specified in sub18 section (a) shall take effect on January 1, 2018. 

19 (c) REDESIGNATION.—At the time of the repeal spec20 ified in subsection (a), section 8 of the Jerusalem Em21 bassy Act of 1995 shall be redesignated as section 7. 

22 SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION REPORT. 

23 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 

25 Congress a report that— 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 4718 IH

1 (1) details the Department of State’s plan to 

2 implement this Act; 

3 (2) includes estimated dates of completion for 

4 each phase of the establishment of the United States 

5 Embassy in Jerusalem, including— 

6 (A) site identification; 

7 (B) land acquisition; 

8 (C) architectural, engineering, and con9 struction surveys; 

10 (D) site preparation; and 

11 (E) construction; and 

12 (3) includes an estimate of the funding needed 

13 to implement this Act, including all costs associated 

14 with establishing the United States Embassy in Je15 rusalem. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS