394. Editorial Note

On July 30, the Knesset voted 69–15, with three abstentions, to approve the Cohen Bill, thereby making Jerusalem the de jure capital of Israel. (Christopher S. Wren, “Israel Enacts a Law Making All of Jerusalem the Capital,” The New York Times, July 31, 1980, page A1) The Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel had four articles: 1) “Integral [shlema] and united Jerusalem is the capital of Israel;” 2) “Jerusalem is the seat of the president, the Knesset, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court;” 3) “The holy places will be guarded against desecration or any kind of offense or anything that might harm the freedom of access of members of [all] faiths to sites that are held holy by them or might hurt their feelings toward those places;” and 4) “The Cabinet will energetically take care to develop Jerusalem and make it prosper. It will also make efforts to care for the well-being of its inhabitants by allocating special resources, including giving Jerusalem municipality a special an[Page 1321]nual grant. This will be done with the approval of the Knesset Finance Committee. Jerusalem will be given special preference in the activities of national bodies [rashuyot] in the development of Jerusalem in economic and financial areas, as well as in other areas. The government will establish a special body—or bodies—to carry out this article.” (Documents and Statements on Middle East Peace, 1979–82, page 89) Writing the following day in his diary, Carter commented that the vote “almost puts the final nail in the coffin of the Camp David negotiations between Israel and Egypt.” (Carter, White House Diary, page 452)