Friday, August 4, 2017

WCG said East Jerusalem Does Not Belong to Israel (1975)

In 1967 the State of Israel acquired East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip after its victory in the Six Day War. Immediately the State of Israel annexed East Jerusalem while placing the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under military rule under the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) which is a part of the Israeli Defense Ministry.

But governments tend to be reluctant to recognize changed borders lest that diplomatic act should set a precedent justifying the dismemberment of their own territories. Consequently no national government recognized the Israeli government's annexation of East Jerusalem instead viewing it as occupied territory in which the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 applies. This includes the United States. It is for this reason that most foreign embassies are located in Tel Aviv and not Jerusalem.

Even WCG acknowledged East Jerusalem legal status as occupied territory ruled by yet not recognized by the international community as being a part of the State of Israel. This may be seen on list of mailing addresses placed in the 1975 edition of WCG's booklet, The Modern Romans: The Decline of Western Civilization (1971, 1972, 1975).

On page 90 of this PDF file the booklet lists mailing addresses in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico, England, Switzerland, West Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Jerusalem, South Africa and Rhodesia. The mailing address for Jerusalem does not mention the State of Israel. This acknowledges the legal status of East Jerusalem in the view of every national government (expect the State of Israel's) that East Jerusalem does not belong to the State of Israel but rather it is viewed as occupied territory in which the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 applies.

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