Livni at GA: World must accept Israel's right to exist as Jewish state

By JPOST.COM STAFF
International acceptance of Israel's right to exist is not enough, the world must accept Israel as a Jewish state, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said at the closing ceremony of the United Jewish Communities General Assembly on Wednesday. "The world is willing to defend the right of the state of Israel to exist, this is the part of the requirement that the [Mideast] Quartet demands [of] Hamas. But I would like to add two more words to this demand of the quartet: They need to accept the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state," she said. Livni went on to clarify that there were international leaders who support such a right, expressly mentioning US President George W. Bush. Speaking then of the Jewish nature of the state, Livni said, "It's not about learning Hebrew or about joining the army, it's about Jewish tradition, Jewish history… But we need to keep the nature, the character of the state of Israel as a Jewish state because this is - excuse me for using the French - the raison d'etre of the state of Israel." "A Jewish state is not a monopoly of rabbis, it's what each and everyone feels inside," she added.