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Essay

Israel Already Is A Jewish State

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alestinian leaders won't acknowl-
And such a law, alone, isn't going
edge it, but Israel is a Jewish state to get Palestinian Authority President
by self-determination
Mahmoud Abbas to recognize
and international declaration.
that Israel, a strategic neighbor
Importantly, it's also a demo-
to Palestinian-controlled areas
cratic state with Western ide-
of the West Bank, indeed is a
als and values when it comes
Jewish state.
to individual liberties.
Despite a now-dormant bill
History Echoes
tilting in favor, Israel doesn't
Affirming Israel's right to lay
need to enshrine itself as a
claim to being a Jewish state
Jewish state. The ancestral
are the U.N. General Assembly's
homeland of the Jewish peo-
1947 Israeli statehood declara-
Robert Sklar
ple is in no danger of losing
tion and the 1948 Proclamation
Contrib uting
its Jewish character. The con-
of Independence shaped by
Edit or
tentious bill is more a political
Israel's People's Council, which
football than a necessary act
held internationally recognized
to preserve the integrity of the belea-
governing authority as Zionism turned
guered land we so love as a people.
from a dream to reality. Israel received
There's nothing wrong with the idea of
instant stature when U.S. President Harry
giving Israel a constitutional-like mandate
Truman recognized Israeli statehood.
to bolster its status as a Jewish state and
Statehood also triggered a five-army Arab
deter future Israeli governments from
invasion.
diminishing Israel's Jewish soul.
Israel has no constitution. What it has
But a nation-state law isn't necessary to
are 11 Basic Laws that serve as a constitu-
Israel's wellbeing and it could irreparably
tional-like guide for Israel's legal system
harm it.
and are harder to repeal than regular

11111111,""'

laws. Supporters of the nation-state bill,
politically divisive as it is, envision it
becoming a Basic Law. Detractors worry
the bill would erode Israel's democratic
infrastructure and undermine Israel's
Arab minority. There's growing evidence
and outrage that passage would cause just
such erosion.

Statehood Standards

The Proclamation of Independence is
crystal clear about Israel being a sovereign
Jewish state, rooted in freedom, justice
and peace, and with "complete equality of
social and political rights to all its inhab-
itants irrespective of religion, race or sex"
Notably, the proclamation "guarantees
freedom of religion, conscience, language,
education and culture It also vows the
new nation would "safeguard the holy
places of all religions:'
So while the nation-state bill might
deepen the enshrinement of Israel's Jewish
character, the Jewishness of Israel has
been espoused ever since statehood was
declared.
The 1948 proclamation bore witness to

the First Zionist Congress's 1897 decree of
"the right of the Jewish people to national
rebirth in its own country" That right
drew support from the Balfour Declaration
of 1917 and, later, affirmation from the
Mandate of the League of Nations, which
gave explicit international recognition
to the historic bond between the Jewish
people and Eretz Yisrael — the biblical
Land of Israel, which today encompasses
the State of Israel as well as Judea and
Samaria, which make up the West Bank.
The Mandate set the "right of the Jewish
people to rebuild its national home
The nation-state bill arises at a time
when Israel's democratic nature already is
being tested by religious edicts that limit
the rights of non-Orthodox Jews and gov-
ernment-backed practices that effectively
discriminate against women in the name
of religious tradition.
Lost in the drama surrounding the
nation-state bill's content and timing is
the Palestinian hypocrisy of seeking to
establish a Palestinian national state while
refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the
Jewish national state.

❑

Editorial

Arab Lands Tourism Requires Culture Change

W

ashington, indeed Jerusalem
and the West, should have
an interest in growing the
Palestinian economy, staggered by years
of conflict with Israel, internal corrup-
tion and terrorist underpinnings.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
spoke hopefully about boosting pros-
pects for economic growth. But sadly,
his wish remains a fantasy given the
fractured leadership on both Palestinian
fronts – in the West Bank and in the
Gaza Strip.
Still, his core message is worth blar-
ing with the faint chance it might echo
among ordinary Palestinians weary of
their plight hewn by repressive leaders.
Addressing the Middle East
Commerce Center, a regional alliance
of private business groups, on Dec.
8 in Washington, Kerry shared State
Department prospects for lifting the
Palestinians' standing economically.
"We looked at infrastructure. We
looked at education. We looked at hous-
ing. We looked at the communications,
at energy, at agriculture," Kerry said.
"And above all, we looked at tourism,
the remarkable possibilities of this unbe-
lievable area, all of it – Jordan, Syria,
Israel, the West Bank, a future Palestine,
Egypt, all through the region. Imagine if
that were free and open to the tourists

20

'anuary 1 • 2015

of the world."
That's great imagery, but a pipe-
dream.

Seeds Of Discontent

For starters, a future Palestinian state
of Palestine is hardly a given despite
European parliaments lining up with
support in the form of nonbinding
resolutions. Tourism might fly in parts
of Jordan – for example, in Aqaba and
Petra. But Egypt is fighting instability
and Syria is saddled with a civil war.
Even tourism in Israel is hampered by
the tenseness of Israeli-Arab relations.
As for the Palestinian territories,
anti-Zionist hatred and anti-West vitriol
emanating from Ramallah and Gaza City
have obstructed any hope of tourism
there.
Kerry's comment about the role of
regional tensions is hinged against
Israel, further distancing peace pros-
pects. In saying the Palestinians have
been more victimized by such tensions,
he conveniently ignored the unceasing
violence and terror that have pelted
Israel from a Palestinian culture incul-
cated to hate.
"Despite the fighting this summer in
Gaza and recent violence in Jerusalem,"
Kerry said, "the United States remains
hopeful about growing the Palestinian

economy and creating more jobs for its
forums outside of the parameters of
people."
peace talks with Israel.
The new law is hollow, however, unless
The Palestinian people deserve a bet-
ter life through an improved economy;
it's enforced. —I
their leadership has to demonstrate it
wants that, too. But to force
their leaders into progres-
sive change, Kerry should
have vowed on behalf of the
WE AGREED TO
U.S. government to dramati-
CALLING THE
REWRITE
cally slash the $400 million
ARABS IN JUDEA
HISTORY BY
in U.S. annual foreign aid to
AND SAMARIA
the Palestinian Authority,
"PALESTINIANS"
which governs Palestinian-
controlled areas of the West
Bank, until the Palestinian
unity government cleans up
its destructive act toward
its own people as well as
toward Israelis.
The massive spending
BELIEVING THAT
bill Congress passed in late
GIVING THEM A
December with tightened
"NATIONAL
oversight of P.A. funding is
IDENTITY"
an important start. The P.A.
WOULD BRING
now faces less or no fund-
PEACE.
ing should it not actively
work to combat incitement;
should Hamas have "undue
influence" over it; and
should Palestinian repre-
sentatives gain statehood
Fight the history rewriting, go to: igg.me/at/drybones
recognition in international

Dry Bones