Former US senator Jon Kyl, key author of Jerusalem Embassy Act, dies at 84

In addition to his work securing funding for the Arrow missile defense system, Kyl also fought against former US president Barack Obama’s recognition of a Palestinian state

Former US senator Jon Kyl of Arizona died at the age of 84 from complications of a neurological disease, it was announced on Thursday. Kyl served 18 consecutive years in the US Senate, from 1995 to 2013, before briefly returning to the chamber in 2018.

In addition to his work securing funding for the Arrow missile defense system, Kyl also fought against former US president Barack Obama’s recognition of a Palestinian state

Most notably, Kyl was considered one of the principal authors and architects of the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act. He worked alongside Senate majority leader Bob Dole to advance the legislation, which stated that Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel and that the US Embassy should be relocated there.

The legislation passed the Senate with an unusually large bipartisan majority of 93 votes in favor and five against. For more than two decades, US presidents refrained from fully implementing the law until US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017 and moved the US Embassy there in 2018.

Kyl later described the Jerusalem Embassy Act as one of the legislative achievements he was most proud of. In a 2011 interview, he said he regretted the inclusion of a provision allowing presidents to delay the embassy move for six months on national security grounds. The waiver was repeatedly invoked by successive US administrations before the embassy was ultimately relocated.

'Israel will not forget his true friendship'

Haim Silberstein, chairman of the Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy (JCAP), mourned Kyl's death.

"Jerusalem and the State of Israel have lost one of their greatest and most significant friends in the US Senate. Jon Kyl did not settle for declarations of support for Israel, but helped turn recognition of Jerusalem as its capital into a principle enshrined in American law.

"There are leaders who stand before the cameras at the moment history is being made, and there are leaders who spend years paving the road that makes that moment possible. Kyl was one of the architects of the diplomatic and legislative infrastructure that ultimately led to American recognition of Jerusalem and the relocation of the embassy.

"The State of Israel owes him a profound debt of gratitude. His work deserves to be commemorated in Jerusalem, the city whose recognition he worked so determinedly to advance.

"Israel will not forget his true friendship, and Jerusalem will not forget the man who helped enshrine its status as Israel's capital in American law. May his memory be a blessing."