Why Is It So Hard To Say "Israel Is A Jewish State"

This is exactly the right conversation that the Israelis and Palestinians need to have, to be exchanging ideas on how to advance this process to a successful conclusion.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley, in response to Yasser Abed Rabbo's offer to recognize Israel in exchange for 1967 borders.

If that is exactly the kind of conversation that is needed to make Obama's peace conference work--then he's got a problem:

A number of Palestinians factions, including the ruling Fatah movement in the West Bank, strongly condemned Abed Rabbo and called for his dismissal.

Abed Rabbo, meanwhile, denied later that he had told Haaretz that the Palestinians would be willing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

In the absence of any leadership in the West Bank, with Abbas's term having run out almost 2 years ago, the default position is to deny any opening, any concession to Israel.

The end result is that the Arab position is reduced to a list of demands--and even where they are willing to show some leeway, it is on the condition that a further demand is fulfilled:

However, he stressed that the Palestinians did not rule out the possibility, but “only if the US administration would give us a clear map showing the borders of Israel so that we could recognize it.”

Sure, why bother to negotiate borders, when you can demand that they be set up without negotiating with Israel. And to think that they are accusing Netanyahu with making unrealistic offers.

And it's not as if Rabbo is thinking of leaving the borders up to the US to decide:

Abed Rabbo added that in return for meeting Israel’s demand, the Israelis and Americans should recognize a Palestinian state that would be established on all the territory in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip captured by Israel in 1967, including the eastern part of Jerusalem.

But even with the demands and conditions that Rabbo piled up to defend the idea of recognizing Israel as a Jewish state--Rabbo was roundly condemned.

One begins to wonder why Obama--whose attempt to hit the peace trail running after being elected hit a dead end--would jump right back in with a such a high-profile attempt at peace talks.

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