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Why We Need to Hear the Palestinians Recognize a Jewish State

(Israel Hayom) Zalman Shoval - Those who question why Netanyahu insists on receiving recognition of a Jewish state from the Palestinians do not understand the real reasons behind the all-out war they are waging. The Islamic world in general and the Palestinians in particular reject the very notion of the Jews as a nation or people, and because in their view Judaism is only a religion, the Jews do not deserve their own state. The Palestinians say: "There is indeed a state called Israel, which for lack of any other choice we were forced to recognize as an existing fact because it is stronger than us militarily and because it has an ally like America. But if the day comes when these basic variables change, we will know how to deal with this illegitimate state, which settled in our midst and which the nations of the world created at our expense to compensate the Jews for what they did to them in the Holocaust." Even if we reach an agreement with the Palestinians, this would not necessarily guarantee an end to the conflict. The recognition of Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people is the real test for the Palestinians and whether they truly are serious about peace. The writer is a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S.
2013-12-27 00:00:00
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