Bibi’s Big PR Stunt
By COLIN SHINDLER, NYT, MAY 12, 2014
LONDON — As Israel celebrates the 66th anniversary of its founding, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to introduce an addition to the country’s basic laws — the closest thing it has to a constitution — to “legally anchor” Israel as a Jewish state.
It seems that Mr. Netanyahu wishes to define the country as the nation-state solely of the Jews. But if this is a point of Zionist principle, then why has it taken 66 years to implement?
Israel’s first right-wing prime minister, Menachem Begin, did not make the 1979 Camp David agreement with Egypt conditional on recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Nor did Yitzhak Rabin, the Labor Party prime minister who signed the peace accord with Jordan in 1994.
Mr. Netanyahu himself did not advocate recognition of Israel as “a Jewish state” during his first period of office between 1996 and 1999. Why now?
(More here.)
LONDON — As Israel celebrates the 66th anniversary of its founding, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to introduce an addition to the country’s basic laws — the closest thing it has to a constitution — to “legally anchor” Israel as a Jewish state.
It seems that Mr. Netanyahu wishes to define the country as the nation-state solely of the Jews. But if this is a point of Zionist principle, then why has it taken 66 years to implement?
Israel’s first right-wing prime minister, Menachem Begin, did not make the 1979 Camp David agreement with Egypt conditional on recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Nor did Yitzhak Rabin, the Labor Party prime minister who signed the peace accord with Jordan in 1994.
Mr. Netanyahu himself did not advocate recognition of Israel as “a Jewish state” during his first period of office between 1996 and 1999. Why now?
(More here.)
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