I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2846 

To transfer to Jerusalem the United States Embassy located in Tel Aviv. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 26, 2013 

Mr. FRANKS of Arizona (for himself, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. 

VARGAS, and Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Jerusalem has been the eternal and undi9 vided capital of the state of Israel for the past 3,000 

10 years. 

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

2 14, 1948, in the wake of World War II in order to 

3 serve as a homeland and place of refuge for the Jew4 ish people. 

5 (3) There has been an uninterrupted Jewish 

6 presence in the city of Jerusalem for 3,000 years 

7 and a Jewish majority since 1840. Since 1950, the 

8 city of Jerusalem has been the capital of the State 

9 of Israel. 

10 (4) From 1948 to 1967, Jerusalem was a di11 vided city and Israeli citizens of all faiths were not 

12 entitled to visit the holy sites, and Jews from other 

13 countries were restricted in their access to holy sites 

14 in the area controlled by Jordan. In 1967, the city 

15 of Jerusalem was reunited during the conflict known 

16 as the Six Day War, and since 1967, Jerusalem has 

17 been a unified city administered by Israel, and per18 sons of all faiths have been guaranteed full access to 

19 the holy sites within the city. 

20 (5) In 1990, Congress unanimously adopted 

21 Senate Concurrent Resolution 106, which declares 

22 that Congress ‘‘strongly believes that Jerusalem 

23 must remain an undivided city in which the rights 

24 of every ethnic religious group are protected’’. 

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1 (6) In 1995, Congress overwhelmingly approved 

2 the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act (Public Law 

3 104–45), requiring the establishment of the United 

4 States Embassy in Jerusalem not later than May 

5 31, 1999. 

6 (7) The United States maintains its embassy in 

7 the functioning capital in every country except in the 

8 State of Israel. 

9 (8) Establishing sovereign claims according to 

10 the 1907 Hague Regulations under article 43, re11 quires that ‘‘[t]he authority of the legitimate power 

12 having in fact passed into the hands of the occupant, 

13 the latter shall take all the measures in his power 

14 to restore and ensure, as far as possible, public 

15 order and safety, while respecting, unless absolutely 

16 prevented, the laws in force in the country.’’. 

17 (9) Israel has far exceeded the 1907 Hague 

18 Regulation as directed by international law. Israel 

19 has taken all measures to restore and ensure public 

20 order and safety in Jerusalem. 

21 (10) Jerusalem has been far safer and more 

22 protected under Israel’s administration than under 

23 any previous authorities. 

24 (11) Civil life is entirely present in Jerusalem, 

25 and all government institutions and related framemstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 works are also present, including the Knesset, the 

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

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

4 Supreme Court. 

5 (12) The United States Government owns prop6 erty in Tel Aviv that was acquired for the cost of 

7 $1.00 in 1957. 

8 (13) The United States Government has allo9 cated five properties in Jerusalem, totaling over of 

10 40,000 square feet and 14 acres of land. 

11 (14) The United States Government’s property 

12 located at 14 David Flusser Street in Jerusalem pre13 sents an ideal location for the United States Em14 bassy to Israel. The Department of State completed 

15 construction of the property in 2010, and the six 

16 acre site is leased for 75 years. 

17 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) the United States should recognize the sov20 ereign status of an undivided Jerusalem as the cap21 ital of the State of Israel; 

22 (2) recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of 

23 Israel and transferring the United States Embassy 

24 to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv will send a signal of 

25 United States commitment and resolve to Israel; and 

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1 (3) the Secretary of State should— 

2 (A) transfer the United States Embassy in 

3 Tel Aviv, Israel, to 14 David Flusser Street, Je4 rusalem, Israel; and 

5 (B) take such actions as are necessary to 

6 either repurpose or sell at an appropriate mar7 ket rate the United States Embassy in Tel 

8 Aviv, Israel, and, if the Embassy is sold, de9 posit in the Asset Management Account of the 

10 Department of State the proceeds from such 

11 sale. 

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, 2014. 

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