Weekly Commentary: Jewish State Issue Not Tactical Red Line for Palestinians
Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 19 December 2013

When PA leader Mahmoud Abbas recently took the position that recognition of
Israel as the Jewish state was a red line I first suspected that it might be
tactical move: exaggerating the importance of the issue in order to increase
the pay-off for conceding the point.

That was until I spoke with a leading Palestinian observer of the
Palestinian street:

"The Palestinians hold their position against recognition of a Jewish State
with the same conviction as Israelis have against recognition of the right
of return of Palestinian refugees," he told me.

Wow.

But let's think this through.

The right of return of Palestinian refugees is a zero sum game. If any Arab
who can trace back an ancestor who happened to be in the area at some point
in time of the British Mandate would have the right to move to Israel that
would spell the end of Israel.

And the Palestinians know it.

"To us, the refugees issue is the winning card which means the end of the
Israeli state." Sakher Habash, member of the Fatah Central Committee, in an
editorial titled "The Palestinian Refugee Issue From A FATEH Perspective"
published on the official Fatah website August 1998

In sharp contrast, a Jewish State is anything but a zero sum game.

Yes, one expression of the Jewish State is the "Law of Return" that opens
Israel's gates to Jewish immigration from around the world, but that has
nothing to do with Israeli Arab rights as a minority inside the Jewish State
or what might transpire within the boundaries of a Palestinian entity in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The only thing preventing the Palestinians from concluding a deal with
Israel that includes a permanent Palestinian entity is the Palestinians
themselves.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il