Soccer Dad

Israel denial in the washington post

I love the opening paragraphs of Glenn Kessler's Defining 'Jewish state': For many, term has different meanings

Nine years ago, then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell delivered a speech on the Middle East in which he briefly called on Palestinians to recognize Israel as a "Jewish state." Powell doesn't recall how the phrase ended up in his speech, but David Ivry, then the Israeli ambassador to the United States, says he persuaded an aide to Powell to slip it in.

From that small seed - the first time a U.S. official took sides on the issue - a significant and potentially insurmountable hurdle has emerged, one that could scuttle President Obama's newly launched effort to promote a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

No. No. No. Declaring Israel a Jewish state is a fundamental necessity for any peace. The Palesitnian National Covenant explicitly denies the connection of Jews to the land of Israel. In order for there to be peace the Palestians need to stop denying history. Any American administration who believes in peace implicitly acknowledges Israel is a Jewish state. So no, the idea is not only nine years old.

The rest of the article paints the idea of Israel as a Jewish state as an Israeli belief with no strong support elsewhere, except in the United States. Effectively Glenn Kessler sides with the Israel deniers.

Crossposted on Yourish.