Recognizing the Jewish State and Sarkozy's stupidity

Israel was, is and will always be the Jewish State whether or not Sarkozy and his followers admit to it, deny it or ignore it.

By AVI PERRY
Sarkozy mad 311 R (photo credit: REUTERS)
Sarkozy mad 311 R
(photo credit: REUTERS)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, along with many other world leaders, have been disparaging Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for insisting on Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish State prior to any signing of a peace agreement with the PA.
Sarkozy has claimed that it makes no sense to condition peace with the Palestinians on this issue, saying, “there are no Catholic states,” in a weak attempt to compare the two. He even went as far as to point out that due to the presence of close to two million Arabs in Israel, the country is not purely Jewish, and hence calling it a Jewish state not strictly correct.
When expressing their biased and baseless opinions, Sarkozy and others like him display a considerable hostility that is combined with sheer ignorance. Not recognizing Israel as a Jewish state is synonymous with not recognizing the Jewish right to the ancestral home.
If Israel is not categorized as a Jewish state, this would render Arab claims to a Muslim Palestine that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River as being totally justified. As such, Jewish immigrants to Israel would be rightfully regarded as the new Crusaders, the Palestinian right of return would be unequivocal, and Helen Thomas would most certainly be deemed a prophet.
Furthermore, Jews, unlike Catholics, are bound by their ethnicity and heritage over and above their religion. They have been rejected, discriminated against, demonized and massacred simply because of whom they were, and not because of which particular God they prayed or did not pray to.
Palestinians in Judea, Samaria and Gaza see Jews as foreign invaders who do not belong there. Had it been up to the Arabs, Jews would have been forbidden from settling in all of Palestine - including Israel proper. They protest when Jews build homes in Jerusalem, the ancient Jewish capital — with the claim that "it's Palestinian land.” They define their dream of a future state not as being a Muslim or a Christian state, rather they characterize it as a non-Jewish state in which only Jews will be prohibited from residing. Over and over they reinforce the notion that the world is divided into two types of human beings, Jews and non-Jews.
The Palestinians are not unique in their attitude toward the Jews. Too many in the old and the modern world have placed Jews at the top of the “most-hated” list. The world forced Jews into ghettos, death camps, and other unspeakable horrors in which the only logical way out was—and still is—to create their own Jewish state where they could be free to be Jewish without the fear of persecution.
It’s true that more than 20% of Israeli citizens are not Jewish. But that number, albeit not a small one, is nonetheless marginal. The State of Israel assumes a definitive Jewish character. The government is run by Jews as is the military. The social atmosphere, the media, the national holidays, and the democratic institutions are all immersed in Jewish tradition, values, and moral fiber.
Israel was a Jewish state since the times of Joshua. The Roman Empire destroyed it, renamed it, killed millions and enslaved the rest of its Jewish residents. The Empire tried and failed to wipe the Jewish State off the map. It took 2000 years for Jews to return and reclaim their ancestors’ land, and no one—not Sarkosy, not the Arabs, not the EU, and not the hostile UN or anyone else—can wipe the Jewish state off the map simply by denying the reality of what Israel is all about.
Jews have a home. The only place in the world where they are not deemed foreigners, a minority, or special.
Nonetheless, character, demographical statistics, and historical rights are all moot points: The real motive behind Netanyahu’s insistence on Arab recognition of Israel as a Jewish state is that such acknowledgment is the sole element that has a chance of generating an end to the conflict. As long as the Palestinians regard Israel as another Palestinian state, one that happens to have Jewish residents, their dream of a Greater Palestine will not be extinguished and the volcano will remain active - ready to erupt at the first opportunity.
Sarkozy’s flawed opinions will fall on deaf ears within the Israeli government because most sane politicians realize that he simply doesn't get it. Israel was, is and will always be the Jewish State whether or not Sarkozy and his followers admit to it, deny it or ignore it.
The writer is currently a talk show host at Paltalk News Network (PNN). He served as an intelligence expert for the Israeli government and was a professor at Northwestern University. He is the author of Fundamentals of Voice Quality Engineering in Wireless Networks, and more recently, 72 Virgins. Both books can be purchased at www.aviperry.org.