Kerry: Mistake for Israel to Demand ‘Jewish State’ Recognition in Talks

Israeli Polls Show They Want Peace, Not Recognition

In comments today to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Secretary of State John Kerry said he made it clear to Israel that it was a “mistake” for them to keep holding out demands for PA recognition of Israel as a “Jewish state” as the ultimate decider of if talks are going to continue.

Kerry pointed out Israel had already been recognized as a Jewish state scores of times and that there wasn’t really any value to the Palestinians doing it one more time.

The PA has withheld the recognition over concerns of what it could mean to Israel’s Arab minority, but insists that Israel’s internal organization isn’t its concern.

Polls show Israelis are more or less fine with that position, with 69% of Israelis believing it is much more important to get peace deals with Arab countries than it is to squeeze another recognition out of them.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.