Arafat vs. Shinui
Haaretz reports,
Yasser Arafat ‘definitely’ understands that Israel must preserve its character as a Jewish state, the Palestinian Authority chairman told Haaretz in an interview this week.
I wonder if Tommy Lapid has made similar statements in the past…
I don’t recognize any right of the Palestinians to have a muslims-only state, only to have self-determination
There are 5 different majorly accepted definitions of what is a jewish state. so arafat means jewish majority. thats it.
I don’t recognize any right of the Palestinians to have a muslims-only state
I’m lost. Who was talking about a Muslims-only state? What are you talking about?
8opus I was referring to this:
“I wonder if Tommy Lapid has made similar statements in the past…”
Hey Babylonian,
So they can do what they like as long as it fits in with what you find acceptable?
Too bad no one bothers to question Haaretz reporters’ credibility…
What Haaretz’s Arafat interviewers declined to mention about Bethlehem:
http://imra.org.il/story.php3?id=21242
“[Arafat] said that … Israelis would be granted freedom of access to holy sites under Palestinian control.”
sweeet! i feel so assured now.
israel’s jewish this i know,
cuz chairman arafat told me so.
ok great. where do i sign?
8opus I was referring to this: “I wonder if Tommy Lapid has made similar statements in the past…”
I’m still lost. I know it sounds preposterous, but it sounds like you’re trying to insinuate that its character as a Jewish state is identical to a muslims-only state .
Is that what you mean? Or have I missed something?
… I meant, obviously, that its character as a Jewish state was being somehow confused for a Jews-only state, to which a Muslims-only state was being counterposed.
In other words, that Babylonian sounds like he doesn’t understand the difference between a Jewish state and a Jews-only state. Which is the preposterous bit.
The Jewishness of the state of Israel is understood in it historical context, as its inherent relation (ziqa) to the Jewish nation (am-Israel) and to the Jewish cultural heritage notably Judaism; like so many other nation-states.
It’s not about being the sovereign arm of the halakha, nor the sword and banner of the Torah, even though a few blokes here wished it were, and it ain’t gonna happen anyway to their dismay.
It’s not about being a place of Jewish exclusivness or privilege, although there are discriminations which can and must be removed through the legal processes of democracy, as is the case in all other democracies (yes, yours is not all that shiny either).