Consulate General of the United States, Jerusalem

Embassy of the United States, Jerusalem
Location Jerusalem, Israel
Address 14 David Flusser Street
Coordinates 31°44′52″N 35°13′29″E / 31.747816°N 35.224632°E / 31.747816; 35.224632Coordinates: 31°44′52″N 35°13′29″E / 31.747816°N 35.224632°E / 31.747816; 35.224632
Ambassador David M. Friedman
(March 29, 2017–present)
Website il.usembassy.gov

The Embassy of the United States of America in Jerusalem is the diplomatic mission of United States of America to the State of Israel.

On May 14, 2018, the United States Embassy in Jerusalem moved into a small part of the purpose built Consular Section of the Jerusalem Consulate General in Arnona. The space will house the Ambassador and a small staff. The Ambassador will split his time between the two locations. The remaining Embassy functions will be conducted out of the former Tel Aviv Embassy now officially referred to a Branch Office of the Embassy. Most Consular Functions of the still existing Consulate have been subsumed under Embassy authority.

The consulate general continues to operate from its historic Agron Road location.[1][2]

History

The U.S. consulate first opened in 1844 in the Old City, inside Jaffa Gate, in what is now the Swedish Christian Study Center. In the late 19th century, the consulate moved to a site on the Street of the Prophets. In 1912, it moved to Gershon Agron Street, in present-day West Jerusalem. The main building, one of the first houses built outside the Old City walls, was constructed in 1868 by Ferdinand Vester, a German Lutheran missionary. A third story was added later. On May 23, 1948, the Consul General, Thomas C. Wasson, was assassinated. In 1952, the consulate leased another building on Nablus Road, East Jerusalem.[3]

On May 14, 2018, the new embassy of the United States in Jerusalem opened on the Arnona site of the Jerusalem consulate general, and it is now the new diplomatic mission from the United States of America to the State of Israel, replacing the former embassy of the United States in Tel Aviv.[1] Out of the 1,000 employees at the Tel Aviv embassy, about 50 transferred to operate the new embassy.[4] The Consulate General will continue to operate as an independent mission from its historic Agron Road site.[2] The opening of the new Embassy coincide with the bloodiest day of the 2018 Gaza border protests, seeing the death of more than 40 Palestinians demonstrators[5]. The opening also coincides with the 70th Anniversary of Israel as a Nation in this modern era.

Location

The US Consulate General is located on 18 Gershon Agron Street and also has a consular section on 14 David Flusser Street, Arnona in West Jerusalem.[6] Until 2010, citizen and visa services operated out of the building at 27 Nablus Road in East Jerusalem.[3] In October 2010, consular services were moved to a new building complex (just east of the Arnona neighborhood of West Jerusalem) bisected by the Green Line and thus partly in what was defined in 1949 as No Man's Land [7] On May 14, 2018, the new US Embassy in Jerusalem moved into the Arnona consular section annex compound of the current Jerusalem consulate general which continues to exist. The embassy compound is located on a parcel of land that straddles the unsettled boundary green line into a No Man’s Land so designated at the armistice agreement between Jordan and Israel ending the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Wilner, Michael (February 23, 2018). "U.S. CONFIRMS JERUSALEM EMBASSY OPENING IN MAY". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Nauert, Heather. "Opening of U.S. Embassy Jerusalem". United States Department of State. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "About the Consulate Archived July 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.." Consulate-General of the United States in Jerusalem. Retrieved on January 16, 2009.
  4. ↑ Schneider, Tal; Zerachovitz, Omri; Barkat, Amiram (May 14, 2018). "US Jerusalem embassy opening starts long process". Globes. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  5. ↑ Dozens die in Gaza as US Embassy opens in Jerusalem
  6. ↑ "Consulate". US Consulate General in Jerusalem. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  7. ↑ American consulate relocates to high-end area
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