Were the following issue simply an isolated squabble between two countries, we would not be giving it this space and importance on Axis of Logic. But as is recognized internationally, the status of Jerusalem is an extremely sensitive subject relating to the conflict between Israel and the Arab countries, with implications for the entire world. It's one of the key issues, central to the 9/11/01 attacks and the "war on terror" that has now engulfed, in one form or another, planet earth. Under international law, neither East nor West Jerusalem is considered to be Israel's capital.

UN Security Council Resolution 252 (1968) states the following:

The Security Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolutions 2253 (ES-V) of 4 July 1967 and 2254 (ES-V) of 14 July 1967,

Having considered the letter of the Permanent Representative of Jordan on the situation in Jerusalem (S/8560)1/ and the report of the Secretary-General (S/8146),2/

Having heard the statements made before the Council,

Noting that since the adoption of the above-mentioned resolutions Israel has taken further measures and actions in contravention of those resolutions,

Bearing in mind the need to work for a just and lasting peace,

Reaffirming that acquisition of territory by military conquest is inadmissible,

1. "Deplores the failure of Israel to comply with the General Assembly resolutions mentioned above;

2. Considers that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, including expropriation of land and properties thereon, which tend to change the legal status of Jerusalem are invalid and cannot change that status;

3. Urgently calls upon Israel to rescind all such measures already taken and to desist forthwith from taking any further action which tends to change the status of Jerusalem;

4. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on the implementation of the present resolution.

Adopted at the 1426th meeting by 13 votes to none, with
2 abstentions (Canada and United States of America).

British Broadcasting Company Affirms and Apologizes

Reinforcing the fact that Jerusalem is classified as an "international city", on June 15, 2007, the BBC issued an apology for their reference to the city as the capital of Jerusalem. Fraser Steel, head of editorial complaints at the BBC, sent a letter to four Muslim-British organizations: Arab Media Watch, Muslim Public Affairs Committee, Friends of Al-Aksa and the Institute of Islamic Political Thought. in which he stated:

"We, of course, accept that the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and that the BBC should not describe it as such. I was therefore pleased to see that Katherine Tsang [BBC Information adviser], when she wrote to you in April, acknowledged the error and apologized for it. [Presenter] Steve Boulton and other senior managers in BBC Sport told us they very much regret the mistake and apologize for it."

United States - Isolated in their position on Jerusalem

Under the influence of powerful Zionist lobbies in Washington, the United States is the only nation that persists in identifying Jersusalem as Israel's capital despite UN resolutions and international law. Zionists consistently find ways to publish this view on websites throughout the world and to penetrate bodies like the UN with disinformation about the status of Jerusalem as they have in this case.

On October 23, 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act into United States law. It was sponsored by Charles Schumer, a pro-Zionist senator from New York. The Jerusalem Embassy Act states in part:

"Each sovereign nation, under international law and custom, may designate its own capital. Since 1950, the city of Jerusalem has been the capital of the State of Israel... Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and the United States Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999.

Israel defies the international community

In 1980, Israel's Knesset enacted a law claiming Jerusalem as its capital, defying international law, international foreign policy and the United Nations. On their government website, the Knesset reported the following legislation:

Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel

1. Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel.

2. Jerusalem is the seat of the President of the State, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court.

3. The Holy Places shall be protected from desecration and any other violation and from anything likely to violate the freedom of access of the members of the different religions to the places sacred to them or their feelings towards those places.

4. (a) The Government shall provide for the development and prosperity of Jerusalem and the well-being of its inhabitants by allocating special funds, including a special annual grant to the Municipality of Jerusalem (Capital City Grant) with the approval of the Finance Committee of the Knesset.
(b) Jerusalem shall be given special priority in the activities of the authorities of the State so as to further its development in economic and other matters.

(c) The Government shall set up a special body or special bodies for the implementation of this section.

MENAHEM BEGIN
Prime Minister
YITZCHAK NAVON
President of the State

* Passed by the Knesset on the 17th Av, 5740 (30th July, 1980) and published in Sefer Ha-Chukkim No. 980 of the 23rd Av, 5740 (5th August, 1980), p. 186; the Bill and an Explanatory Note were published in Hatza'ot Chok No. 1464 of 5740, p. 287.

Illegally and without international authority, naming Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is but one of many weapons that the U.S. and Israel continue to use to make war against the Arab world and infiltrate the foreign policies of other nations and the UN. Key issues like this are at the root of the wars fought by Israel and on behalf of Israel. Millions die and more suffer as a result of these aggressive attempts to oppress the Palestinian people and expand Israel as the spearhead of empire in the Middle East. We applaud Brian Souter for his diligence and persistence in confronting this aggression.

- Les Blough, Editor

Date: June 5, 2008
To: statistics@un.org
From: Brian Souter
Subject: An error on your site

Dear United Nations:

Ive just been to your website on the worlds capitals, and you have Jerusalem listed as Israels capital ( I presume that's why your site has it in CAPITALS). The capital of Israel is Tel Aviv. I was surprised to see a site listed as the UN making this sort of error!

Very truly yours,

Brian Souter, Australia 
briansouter@yahoo.com.au
05/06/2008 11:22 PM

M. Isabel Cobos-Hernandez
Assistant Editor, Demographic Yearbook
United Nations Statistics Division

Dear Brian,

Thanks for your interest in our work and publications. The United Nations Demographic Yearbook collects and disseminates data on various demographic topics since 1948. Please take a look at UN Stats for our latest issue.

We appreciate your pointing out to the issue of displaying Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel. We are in the process of updating the data on the cited website to show our latest figures, pertinent footnotes and appropriate designation. We kindly invite you to consult it again in approximately a month or so.

Moreover, we have requested official advice from our Office of Legal Affairs on how to disseminate the data we collect from countries while complying with UN regulations and positions.

Please, do not hesitate in contacting us with further inquiries.

Kind regards,

M. Isabel Cobos-Hernandez
Assistant Editor, Demographic Yearbook
United Nations Statistics Division

Statistics/NY/UNO
Sent by: Adriana Skenderi
06/06/2008 09:16 AM

To:
Demostat/NY/UNO@UNHQ
Sabine Warschburger/NY/UNO@UNHQ,
Haoyi Chen/NY/UNO@UNHQ
Subject: An error on your site [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

Please look at this message with priority.

Thanks,

Adriana

cc: "Souter, Brian" <briansouter@yahoo.com.au>

On June 5, Mr. Souter also posted the following report on Jersualem's status on the Political Forum on Amazon.com.

Visa Credit Card Company Rejects Israel's Claim to Jerusalem The BBC is not the only one who has recently called into question the status of Jerusalem serving as the capital of the State of Israel. Recently, a Visa credit card customer noticed that his bill listed items he bought in Jerusalem's Old City as purchases made outside the country of Israel. The customer, whom the Hebrew newspaper Ma'ariv identified as "A," said the credit card company told him that according to its list, the store in the Old City is located in "Palestine" and not in Israel. A company executive stated, "The firm has no control over definitions in Visa's international system." Jerusalem No Longer Home to World's Embassies Late in 2006, both Costa Rica and El Salvador relocated their embassies from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. The move was considered significant, as, with the move, there are no longer any countries whose official embassies are located in the nation's capital. Traditionally, an embassy is located in the capital city of the host country. On October 23, 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act into United States law. The Jerusalem Embassy Act states, "Each sovereign nation, under international law and custom, may designate its own capital. Since 1950, the city of Jerusalem has been the capital of the State of Israel... Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and the United States Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999." True to form, we see US Congress loyally serving the Zionist Entity - Brian Souter

REFERENCES AND U.N. RESOLUTIONS

Arab Media Watch reports:

Under international law, neither East nor West Jerusalem is considered Israel's capital. Tel Aviv is recognised as Israel's capital, pending a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians. East Jerusalem is considered by the international community to be illegally occupied by Israel, in contravention of several binding UN Security Council Resolutions listed here. A more complete document on the legal status of East Jerusalem is available at:

Muslim Public Affairs Committe (MPACUK) reports on the status of Jerusalem and lists numerous UN Resolutions supporting their position:

In these resolutions, the United Nations Security Council has also called for no measures to be taken to change the status of Jerusalem until a final settlement is reached between the sides: declaring Jerusalem as Israel's capital is an attempt to change this status, and is thus a violation of these Security Council resolutions. Accordingly, Costa Rica and El Salvador, the only countries to have had embassies in Jerusalem, moved them to Tel Aviv in August 2006.

The legal status of West Jerusalem is summarised in a 1997 UN report entitled "The Status Of Jerusalem", which reaffirms that the decision of the UN in 1947 to declare Jerusalem an international city remains valid:

"First acknowledged in an Israel-Jordan cease-fire agreement of 30 November 1948, the de facto division of the City between two countries at war, with sealed borders, was formalized in the Israel-Jordan Armistice Agreement of 3 April 1949. The Agreement, however, was considered internationally as having no legal effect on the continued validity of the provisions of the partition resolution for the internationalization of Jerusalem...Particular mention should also be made of the continued presence in Jerusalem of an international sui generis consular corps, commonly referred to as the 'Consular Corps of the Corpus Separatum'. Nine States have maintained consulates in Jerusalem (East and West) without, however, recognizing any sovereignty over the City. Unlike consuls serving in Israel, the consuls of those States do not present a consular letter of authorization to the Foreign Ministry and do not receive accreditation by the President of Israel. They do not pay taxes and have no official relations with Israeli authorities. In their activities, they respect common protocol rules designed to prevent any appearance of recognition of sovereign claims to the City."

ADDITIONAL U.N. RESOLUTIONS DENYING ISRAEL OF ITS CLAIM TO JERUSALEM AS THEIR CAPITAL CITY

Security Council Resolution 252 (21 May 1968)
"Considers that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, including expropriation of land and properties thereon, which tend to change the legal status of Jerusalem are invalid and cannot change that status."

"Urgently calls upon Israel to rescind all such measures already taken and to desists forthwith from taking any further action which tends to change the status of Jerusalem."

Security Council Resolution 267 (3 July 1969)

"Censures in the strongest terms all measures taken to change the status of the City of Jerusalem."

"Confirms that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel which purport to alter the status of Jerusalem, including expropriation of land and properties thereon, are invalid and cannot change that status."

"Urgently calls once more upon Israel to rescind forthwith all measures taken by it which may tend to change the status of the City of Jerusalem, and in future to refrain from all actions likely to have such an effect."

Security Council Resolution 298 (25 September 1971)

"Confirms in the clearest possible terms that all legislative and administrative actions taken by Israel to change the status of the City of Jerusalem, including expropriation of land and properties, transfer of populations and legislation aimed at the incorporation of the occupied section, are totally invalid and cannot change that status."

"Urgently calls upon Israel to rescind all previous measures and actions and to take no further steps in the occupied section of Jerusalem which may purport to change the status of the City or which would prejudice the rights of the inhabitants and the interests of the international community, or a just and lasting peace."

Security Council Resolution 446 (22 March 1979)

"Calls once more upon Israel, as the occupying Power, to abide scrupulously by the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, to rescind its previous measures and to desist from taking any action which would result in changing the legal status and geographical nature and materially affecting the demographic composition of the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, and, in particular, not to transfer parts of its own civilian population into the occupied Arab territories."

Security Council Resolution 452 (20 July 1979)

"Calls upon the Government and people of Israel to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem."

Security Council Resolution 465 (1 March 1980)

"Determines that all measures taken by Israel to change the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure or status of the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, or any part thereof, have no legal validity."

"Strongly deplores the continuation and persistence of Israel in pursuing those policies and practices and calls upon the Government and people of Israel to rescind those measures, to dismantle the existing settlements and in particular to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem."

Security Council Resolution 471 (5 June 1980)

"Reaffirms the overriding necessity to end the prolonged occupation of Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem."

Security Council Resolution 476 (30 June 1980)

"Reaffirms the overriding necessity to end the prolonged occupation of Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem."

"Reconfirms that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, which purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and also constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East."

"Reiterates that all such measures which have altered the geographic, demographic and historical character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council."

"Urgently calls on Israel, the occupying Power, to abide by this and previous Security Council resolutions and to desist forthwith from persisting in the policy and measures affecting the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem."

Security Council Resolution 478 (20 August 1980)

"Determines that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, which have altered or purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem…are null and void and must be rescinded forthwith."

Security Council Resolution 904 (18 March 1994)

"Reaffirming its relevant resolutions, which affirmed the applicability of the fourth Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 to the territories occupied by Israel in June 1967, including Jerusalem, and the Israeli responsibilities thereunder, ..."

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