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Avigdor Liberman: The meaning of Israel as the state of the Jewish
The meaning of Israel as the state of the Jewish people
Avigdor Liberman, Minister of Foreign Affairs
20 Feb 2014
“Eretz Israel [the Land of Israel] was the birthplace of the Jewish people. =
Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here the=
y =
first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and =
universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books [the =
Bible].”
(The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, 14th May =
1948).
The meaning of the Jewish state and its importance
Decades before the founding of the state in 1948, the international =
community recognized the Land of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish =
nation.
Palestinian representatives for their part have refused to recognize Israel =
as the Jewish state. This is not only a matter of semantics; it is, rather, =
an essential issue of peace making. The core of the conflict remains the =
Palestinian refusal to accept the existence of Israel as the nation state o=
f =
the Jewish people.
The Jewish people have always constituted a nation, a people and a =
civilization, even throughout prolonged separation from their land. =
Millennia before the emergence of the =91Westphalian system=92, the Jewish =
people had established an independent polity in the Land of Israel. Both =
historically and from the perspective of modern Zionism, Jewish identity ha=
s =
been forged by a sense of peoplehood linked by a shared destiny, a land, a =
religion, a culture and a language.
A true and lasting peace will only be possible if the Palestinians recogniz=
e =
Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people alongside the recognition of th=
e =
Palestinian state as the homeland of the Palestinian people. Resolution of =
the conflict will come via two states for two peoples, living side by side =
in peace and security.
The Jewish state and freedom of religion
The term “Jewish state” refers primarily to nationality. Since their =
emergence in antiquity, the Jewish people have constituted a nation, a =
people, and a civilization, anchored in basic aspects of their identity, =
such as Judaism and the Hebrew language. Israel is to the Jewish people =
what France is to the French people, Ireland is to the Irish and Japan is t=
o =
the Japanese.
Each nation has the right to define its state in the manner of its choosing=
. =
Just as Egypt defines itself as the Arab Republic of Egypt, and Greece as =
the Hellenic Republic, so too, Israel defines itself as the Jewish State.
The State of Israel is a democratic state which guarantees freedom of =
religion to all its citizens. Israel’s Declaration of Independence states =
clearly that “it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, =
education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions.” =
Israel=92s democratic system of government, its separation of powers, its f=
ree =
press and its strong protection of civil rights ensure that these ideals ar=
e =
realized in practice. Thus, recognizing the State of Israel as the nation =
state of the Jewish people does not infringe in any way on the freedom of =
religion guaranteed to all Israeli citizens.
The Jewish affinity for the Land of Israel has its roots in continuous =
Jewish presence over the past 3500 years
Archaeological findings and historical records demonstrate that Jews have =
lived continuously in the Land of Israel for the past 3500 years. When the =
Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans, the Jewish community in Israel =
was over a thousand years old. The Romans exiled only part of the Jewish =
population, and throughout the subsequent millennia there has been an =
uninterrupted Jewish presence in the Land of Israel.
While the desire to re-establish a Jewish state in the Land of Israel was =
intensified by harsh persecution and repeated massacres, it mostly derived =
from the belief that only in a sovereign Jewish state could the Jewish =
people express itself completely and independently.
The yearning of the Jewish people for political independence has long been =
appreciated and recognized by others, well before the emergence of modern =
Zionism in the late 19th Century. For example, in 1762, Jean Jacques =
Rousseau wrote: “It seems to me we will never come to understand what the =
Jews are saying until they have a free state, schools and universities in =
which they will be able to speak freely and discuss matters without danger. =
Only then will we be able to know what they have to say.”
The Right of the Jewish People to Self-Determination Received International =
Recognition in Past Centuries
The right of the Jews to self-determination was acknowledged by the =
international community already in the 18th and 19th centuries. World =
leaders such as Napoleon, as expressed in his letter to the Jewish people a=
s =
=93The Rightful Heirs of Palestine=94, and numerous American presidents, =
including John Adams and Abraham Lincoln, exemplified this recognition of =
the ties between the Jewish people and their homeland.
The Balfour Declaration and the Mandate for Palestine
In 1917, the Balfour Declaration was issued by Great Britain and in April =
1920 the San Remo conference determined the allocation of the British =
mandate for Palestine. The mandate was conferred on Britain for the specifi=
c =
purpose of the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people”.
The Declaration was incorporated in August 1920 into the Treaty of S=E8vres =
between the Allied Powers and the Ottoman Empire. On 24 July 1922, the =
British Mandate was confirmed by the League of Nations, the precursor of th=
e =
United Nations, thus lending Zionism, the national movement of the Jewish =
people, formal legal recognition and international legitimacy.
British leaders explicitly acknowledged that the mandate was to be an =
instrument for the establishment of a Jewish state. Lloyd George, British =
prime minister at the time, underscored that the goal of the mandate was th=
e =
ultimate establishment of a Jewish state: “It was contemplated that when th=
e =
time arrived for according representative institutions to Palestine, if the =
Jews had meanwhile responded to the opportunities afforded them by the idea =
of a national home… then Palestine would thus become a Jewish =
commonwealth.”
This view was reiterated by other British leaders, such as Winston =
Churchill, who in February 1920 wrote that =93there should be created in ou=
r =
own lifetime by the banks of the Jordan a Jewish State.=94
The Peel Commission
In 1937 the Peel Commission, a British Royal Commission of Inquiry, stated =
in its report that if =93establishing a Jewish National Home succeeded and =
a =
sufficient number of Jews went to Palestine, the National Home might develo=
p =
in course of time into a Jewish State.=94
The Commission thus recommended the partition of Mandatory Palestine into a =
Jewish state and an Arab state joined with Transjordan, claiming that =
=93Partition enables the Jews in the fullest sense to call their National H=
ome =
their own; for it converts it into a Jewish State.=94
The Jewish State is Created
On November 29, 1947, the international community once again recognized the =
need for the establishment of a Jewish state, when the United Nations =
General Assembly passed resolution 181, recommending the partition of =
British Mandatory Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state.
Less than six months after the partition resolution, the Jewish state came =
into being. The two-thousand year old dream of renewing Jewish sovereignty =
culminated in the timeless words of Israel=92s Declaration of Independence,=
as =
read by David Ben-Gurion, Israel=92s first Prime Minister: “we [=85], by vi=
rtue =
of our natural and historic right and on the strength of the resolution of =
the United Nations General Assembly, hereby declare the establishment of a =
Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.”
Notably, it was at one time contemplated to simply name the new country =91=
The =
Jewish State=92. As a result, US President Harry Truman prepared a text =
recognizing the new state with the words =93Jewish State=94, which were str=
uck =
through in pen when he was informed that the new state would instead be =
called Israel.
Thus, the concept of a Jewish state is far older than its name. It is not =
Israel that was to become a Jewish state, but a Jewish state that was to be =
called Israel.
Peace Process
The basic paradigm underpinning the Oslo Accords held that both Israel and =
the Palestinians were prepared to recognize the legitimacy of each other=92=
s =
national rights and aspirations. Whereas the Zionist leadership had done so =
already in 1947, through acceptance of the Partition Plan, the 1993 =
Declaration of Principles was the first time a Palestinian leader had in an=
y =
way reciprocated. Regrettably, the Palestinian leadership nevertheless =
continues in its refusal to take the necessary step of recognizing Israel a=
s =
the nation-state of the Jewish people.
The issue of recognizing Israel=92s national identity has been on the agend=
a =
in every round of negotiations between the parties.
The international community should encourage recognition by the Palestinian=
s =
of the Jewish state, in order to ensure the realization of the vision of tw=
o =
states for two peoples.
________________________________________
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