Stop Fighting It. America Is a Monarchy, and That’s Probably for the Best
Some fret that we drew closer to an American monarchy earlier this month.
In 2002, Congress passed a federal statute that allowed Americans born in Jerusalem to designate Israel as their place of birth in their passports. Menachem Zivotofsky, an American citizen, had been born in Jerusalem in 2002 and his parents wanted their son’s passport to record “Israel” as the birthplace. President George W. Bush, believing that Jerusalem’s status should be left to negotiation, disregarded the statute on the grounds that it interfered with the exercise of his powers over foreign relations. President Barack Obama continued that policy. The Zivotofsky’s filed suit and the case wound up in the Supreme Court. In Zivotofsky v. Kerry, the Court sided with the president.