You were born in Jerusalem, now you also have your country of birth, Israel.

An American born in Jerusalem obtains a passport with Israel as his country of birth.

An American born in Jerusalem yesterday received for the first time an American passport mentioning “Israel” as his place of birth, the latest gesture from the Trump administration in favour of the Hebrew state just a few days before the American presidential elections.

Until now, the international consensus has been that the status of Jerusalem remains undetermined on official documents. Israel considers Jerusalem as its “unified and indivisible” capital.

But the international community does not recognise the annexation of the occupied eastern part of the city, which the Palestinians want to make the capital of the state to which they aspire. On Thursday, the head of American diplomacy Mike Pompeo announced that passport applicants could now choose either “Jerusalem” or “Israel” as their place of birth on their consular documents, the default choice remaining “Jerusalem”.

On Friday morning, an 18-year-old American, born in the Holy City, received his passport with “Israel” as his place of birth in a brief ceremony at the American Embassy in Jerusalem. “Menachem (…) has waited a long time for this moment.

Today we say to Menachem Zivitofsky: you have a country of birth, the State of Israel”, said the American Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, when handing him the document.