The Constitution gives the President the sole power to “receive Ambassadors” (Art. II, section 3), which has always been understood to mean that the President is the only one who gets to decide what foreign countries we give diplomatic recognition to. Since 1948, it has been the unbroken policy of every U.S. Administration to recognize Israel, but not to recognize Israel’s (or anyone else’s) claim to Jerusalem. So Both the Bush and Obama Administrations have refused to follow this law.
I understand a bit about the legalities. The problem I see is that if one is born in Jerusalem or any disputed territory what can they put on their birth certificate?
If any administration says they can only list Jerusalem, then I would be ok with that I guess. On the other hand, what about an American born in the former DDR? Can they amend their birth certificate to say Germany? What about any state that the US does not recognized diplomatically? What about an American born in Moscow in 1918? What goes on their birth certificate, USSR, Russia or what? Yes an administration receives determines foreign policy, but NOT REALITY. Reality right now is that someone born in Jerusalem is born under Israeli jurisdiction.