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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/01/AR2010100104177.html
Recognizing Israel as a "Jewish State"
(Washington Post) Glenn Kessler - Describing Israel as a "Jewish state" may seem like standard boilerplate in the United States, often used in newspaper articles and television programs. President George W. Bush used the "Jewish state" concept in his speeches and in an exchange of letters with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2004. President Obama has also adopted the phrase, most recently in a speech last month before the UN General Assembly. For the Israeli government of Prime Minister Netanyahu, Palestinian recognition of Israel as a "Jewish state" would mean acceptance that the Jews have existed in the Middle East for thousands of years. Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren notes that the demand is not a new concept: the UN partition of the British mandate in 1948 referred to a "Jewish state" and an "Arab state."