I don’t mean to come off as a dope, but I have trouble understanding why some people think it is vitally important that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Here is Aryeh Tepper, writing in The Weekly Standard:
Has Abbas agreed in private conversation to recognize Israel as a Jewish state? If he has, that’s a fine first step, but he has yet to do so publicly, and the real test will be to see if Abbas can sell the idea to the Palestinian public. If he can’t, then there’s nothing to talk about.
It seems to me that the important thing is that the final agreement satisfies Palestinians sufficiently that further armed resistance abates and the Palestinian government is able to keep its commitment to peace by providing adequate security. Whether or not Abbas makes some rhetorical concession just doesn’t seem to matter except as it might indicate a willingness to make a substantive concession.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like all this talk of “a Jewish state” is a relatively new development and is really just a substitute for talking about the right of return in a direct and honest manner. Let’s not forget that more than 20% of Israelis are non-Jewish Arabs, most of whom have accepted Israeli citizenship.
Have I got this wrong?
