Spain Recognizes Israel as Jewish Homeland
Okay -- I'll admit that I find it faintly comical that in 2011 it should still be considered both newsworthy and an indication of a substantive shift in diplomatic policy for a European senior government official to acknowledge that Israel is a Jewish state. Still, it would be churlish to deny that under prevailing bizarro-world circumstances, statements like that of Spain’s Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez before the United Nations General Assembly are important and necessary.
Jimenez noted -- apparently for the first time -- that Israel is the Jewish homeland, and said the Palestinian refugee problem needs to be solved in a way that does not compromise Israel's character as a Jewish state. Haaretz expressed the hope that the announcement of Spain's new position will encourage other countries to follow suit, particularly as Spain is widely viewed as pro-Palestinian.
Well, we'll see. It is encouraging, though, to see even a single European statesperson claim openly that the assumption of a Palestinian right to their homeland implies a reciprocal Jewish right. I'd like to hope that this kind of thing might force Abbas to either explain his reconciliation with Hamas or break with them once and for all, but am not too optimistic on that score; he's clearly been given a pass to run with whatever wolves he likes, and he has years of experience fine-tuning his talking points depending on the listener. Hamas, however, unlike Abbas and his cohort, can be counted on to stay on message: statehood, shmatehood. Palestine is all of Israel, not just a chunk of it. Game's not over till they say it is. Stay tuned.
- Comment (7)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (1)
Comments :
Aug '11
Re: Spain Recognizes Israel as Jewish Homeland
This is encouraging. It would be great if the rest of the EU followed suit and made it part of their collective mess of a foreign policy.
But as someone on my Facebook pointed out when I posted the article from Haaretz that you referenced, it may be premature to recognize Spain as a Christian country. Is there any guarantee its going to stick this time around?
Feb '11
Re: Spain Recognizes Israel as Jewish Homeland
I am surprised, but not impressed.
Surely there is a catch. Perhaps each individual country that makes this kind of statement will expect something distinct in return. (Perhaps for instance we can recognize Spain as the homeland of the Spanish - thereby risking the wrath of the Moors.)
Of course, the League of Nations recognized Palestine as the Jewish homeland decades ago and assigned the British the job of birthing the Jewish state. Perfidious Albion promptly transferred some 78% of that mandate to the made-up Kingdom of Jordan and the Spanish reference is to a portion of the remaining 22%.
Edited on Sep 25, 2011 at 3:54amAug '11
Re: Spain Recognizes Israel as Jewish Homeland
In this country (Spain) it's probably braver for a journalist to honestly cover this story, than for a member of the socialist regime to use the statement to offset her support for the current UN motions. I'm only exagerating a little. You will be very hard-pressed to find a news story from Spain that isn't anti-Israel.
Dec '10
Re: Spain Recognizes Israel as Jewish Homeland
The Spanish government most likely figures that if it presents the Palestinians with a fair accompli of EU recognition of Israel as the Jewish homeland, it will force the Palestinians to accept reality and give Israel that recognition themselves. However, Fatah and Hamas are pretty immune to the demands of reality, and are hardly likely to do what Spain expects. I doubt their intransigence will stop Spain from supporting Abbas's UN petition, because Spain is pretty reality-resistant itself.
Aug '10
Re: Spain Recognizes Israel as Jewish Homeland
Ditto Ireland, only more so.Obama's speech was trashed without any analysis and Ahmadinejad's rantings barely registered (not at all in some major media organs) even though the Irish delegation joined the walkout.Which is positive in itself.
Dec '10
Re: Spain Recognizes Israel as Jewish Homeland
Yes, Spain's recoginition is good. It took the Vatican a long time to recognize Israel also. What is especially important is that it makes it clear how 'PEACE' in the Middle East can be accomplished. It is as simple as the Islamic World recognizing the State of Israel. The Balfour Declaration was a two state solution. 1948 was a two state solution. It is the Islamic World which patently rejects co-existence. While so called Palestinians claim racism the Islamic controlled U.N. ignores the merciless genocide of over 1 million black Africans. Now that was racism.
Nov '10
Re: Spain Recognizes Israel as Jewish Homeland
How about a whole raft of western nations sign on to a fresh statement of principle on the matter? I am certain the current Canadian government would do so, if they have not already done so. If a really pithy statement of the concept were drafted it could be floated by governments around the world to put them under pressure to take a stand.
Personally I have been leaning toward the understanding that it is not Israel, but Jordan that is the illegitimate state in that region. It seems clear from the way the state of Jordan came about. All this talk about the 1967 borders -- have we lost our confidence in standing by the Balfour Declaration?