Inaugural holder Warder Cresson Phone +972 2-630-4000 | Formation 1844 | |
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Website U.S. Consulate General - Jerusalem Address David Flusser St 14, Jerusalem, 9378322 Similar Consulate of Italy, Consulate of Spain, US EMBASSY IN ISRAEL, Internatio Christian Embassy, American Cultural Center Profiles | ||
The Consulate General of the United States, Jerusalem, is a United States diplomatic mission in Jerusalem. The consulate is an independent mission that serves Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. It is one of the two Consulate Generals (the other being Hong Kong) that function similarly to an embassy (i.e., reporting directly to the United States Department of State and not the ambassador of any country).
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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 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 23 May 1948, the Consul General, Thomas C. Wasson, was assassinated. In 1952, the consulate leased another building on Nablus Road, East Jerusalem.
Location
The residence of the Consul General and offices for consulate employees are located on Agron Street in West Jerusalem. Until 2010, citizen and visa services operated out of the building at 27 Nablus Road in East Jerusalem. In October 2010, consular services were moved to a new building in the Arnona neighborhood of West Jerusalem, in an area that was once a no man's land very close to the Green Line.