(Ha'aretz) Ari Shavit - The demand to recognize Israel as a Jewish state is the most natural and justified demand imaginable. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict did not start in 1967 and does not revolve around the occupation and the settlements. In order to end this 100-year war, we must recognize their nationalism and their state, and they must recognize our nationalism and our state. Israelis recognize that there is another people in this land. There is no reason that Palestinians cannot open their eyes and see that there is another people in the land. Those who believe the Israelis and Palestinians are equal have a moral obligation to demand from the Palestinians exactly what they demand from the Israelis. The Palestinians must concede that the Jews are not colonialists but legal neighbors. There will not be peace if Palestinian children grow up not knowing that the country across the border is a legitimate Jewish state of a true Jewish people, whom they are decreed to live with. It is those who give up on the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state who are actually giving up on peace.
2014-02-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive