Right Wing Israeli Officials Slam Kerry Over “Jewish State” Remarks As Abbas Rejects Demand
(By Juan Cole)
Right wing Israeli officials over the weekend expressed rage at US Secretary of State John Kerry for saying that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu should “drop” his demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
Israel Ha-Yom reported, ‘Deputy Education Minister Avi Wortzman (Habayit Hayehudi) said: “At a time when the citizens of the State of Israel are being attacked by rockets, I would expect Kerry to be making clear statements against terror organizations instead of disputing the basic rights of the Jewish nation to its land.” ‘
As an outsider, that just sounds like a series of non sequiturs to me. What have the security problems Israel has with Gaza got to do with recognizing Israel as a “Jewish” state? How would those security problems be different if Mahmoud Abbas, the president of Palestine who however has no authority over Gaza, said the magic words? (Abbas condemned the rocket attacks from Gaza on Israel, by the way). How do citizens of Israel have more or less rights to the land they live on if outsiders are made to characterize Israel as a “Jewish state”?
Actually, it isn’t clear what exactly Netanyahu’s demand entails or why he is making it. As I have pointed out, it is either like the US demanding to be recognized as a “white” state, or it is like the US demanding to be recognized as a “Christian” state. If it is the former, it is shameful and should be rejected. If it is the latter, it raises questions about the civil rights of non-believers (atheists and agnostics), which include at least 32% of Jews in Israel along with the 20% of the population that is Christian or Muslim. That is, the demand that Israel be recognized as a “Judaic” state would disenfranchise over half the population.
I know that the late Ariel Sharon used to complain, in biblical language, that the “Arabs” did not recognize the “Jewish birthright” to the land of Israel. I wonder if that is what Netanyahu is talking about with his formulation. If it is theological, it is certainly unreasonable to demand that outsiders assent to the formula.
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http://www.juancole.com/2014/03/israelis-remarks-rejects.html
