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Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Morton A. Klein and Government Relations Director Dan Pollak released the following statement:
The ZOA strongly commends Rep. Claudia Tenney and 360 Democratic and Republican House members for sponsoring and voting to prohibit moving the U.S. embassy out of Jerusalem under any conditions. The vote came as an amendment to the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024 (H. R. 4665) which passed the House of Representatives on September 28th. It must now be reconciled with the Senate version of the bill, which has not yet passed, and does not yet contain the equivalent provision.
The vast majority of the Democrats (141 members) supported the amendment.
Sixty-seven Democrats, including former Speaker Pelosi, opposed the amendment.
All Republican Members of the House who were present supported it. The final vote was 360-67, which is a strong statement of how important Jerusalem is to the American People.
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said:
"This overwhelming support for Jerusalem as Israel's eternal capital is a significant milestone. Except for those with extremist, even Israel-hating opinions, large majorities of both parties support the continued presence in Jerusalem of the U.S. Embassy.
There is a true consensus that Jerusalem is important to both the United States and to Israel.
ZOA is troubled by the small but fanatical opposition to acknowledging the status of Jerusalem within the Democratic Party. We will continue to work to make this issue beyond politics.
Equally important to Israel's case for Jerusalem is ZOA's fight to prevent the Biden administration from opening a consulate in Jerusalem for the Palestinian Arabs. It is unprecedented to have a consulate in the same city as the American embassy, and forcing Israel to accept it is a clear violation of Israel's sovereignty. We strongly urge the Biden administration to stop pressuring Israel to accept any diminution of the concept of a united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty."
ZOA Director of Government Relations Dan Pollak said:
"It is remarkable that this issue, which was controversial along partisan lines when President Trump announced the move to Jerusalem in 2017, has now evolved into a consensus issue in both political parties. Many of the Democratic opponents of this amendment are justifying their positions by stating that there is no Biden administration proposal to return the embassy to Tel Aviv, so the vote was unnecessary. The small cabal of Israel-haters who opposed this measure on the grounds that everything Israel does is wrong are more isolated than ever. Even the one or two GOP congressmen who generally oppose all aid to Israel on fiscal grounds voted with the majority on this amendment.
"Haters of Israel, including J Street and several other organizations, continue to scheme against an undivided Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty. ZOA will never stop fighting against them."
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