(JNS.org) Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said he was born in Jerusalem and is Israeli, in reference to the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Jerusalem should not be recognized as part of Israel on American passports unless that decision is made by the president. Rivlin made the remark during a meeting with U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey in Jerusalem last week. “I am a seventh generation Jerusalemite, and even though I was born nine years before the State of Israel was established, I was born in Jerusalem, and I am Israeli,” Rivlin said. In the meeting, Rivlin also addressed the Syrian civil war, which he said “is a very real threat to the citizens of Israel – Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike.”