US Supreme Court rebuts Jerusalem passport law

The Supreme Court has sided with the government, which does not want to take sides

The US Supreme Court has invalidated a 2002 passport law allowing Jerusalem-born American citizens to claim their birthplace as Israel.

Congress went too far in passing the law, which would change US State Department policy, the court ruled.

Currently, the US State Department does not list Israel as the place of birth for Jerusalem-born Americans.

The status of Jerusalem is highly contentious, as the city is claimed by both Israel and the Palestinians.

The ruling shows that the US government still refuses to recognise sovereignty over Jerusalem, and accentuates the president's power in foreign affairs.

Congress passed the law in 2002, but neither former US president George W Bush nor president Barack Obama has enforced it.

The ruling puts an end to a 12-year-old lawsuit from a Jerusalem-born American and his parents.

Jerusalem-born Menachem Zivotofsky's parents Ari and Naomi Zivotofsky long wanted Menachem's passport to say he was born in Israel.

About 50,000 American citizens were born in Jerusalem.