Capital Offense: International Norms On Jerusalem Are A Mess

Excerpt

In recent weeks the topic of recognizing Israel’s capital in Jerusalem and the question of why nearly all embassies are located in Tel Aviv was big news in the UK and Australia. On cue, a broad range of foreign policy grandees and experts intoned about the importance of not recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and most definitely not placing embassies there.

This, after all, has been the consensus position since the very first days after Israel’s establishment as an independent state in 1948. And it is nearly always expressed in very pious terms referencing “international law.” This is peculiar, since there is no relevant international law to be applied to the recognition of another state’s capital city.