What is "the Jewish State"?

The Jewish people have a peculiar history with its own tragic mixture of oppression and glory. One outcome of this is the present State of Israel, and the state of the Middle East.

Central to today's discourse is the notion of the "Jewish State", which Palestinians are warned to embrace (e.g. recently by Netanyahu), or face the consequences. But what is this Jewish State? And why is the Jewish religion unique in claiming its right to statehood?

We do not hope to answer these questions here, but they should be posed. One thing that is clear however, is that the phrase "Jewish State" has had many different connotations over the decades and centuries. Theodore Herzl's (1896) "Der Judenstaat" is one possible starting-point. This raised most of the key issues:

• What would the boundaries of such a state be? Specifically, what about Jerusalem?
• Who would be entitled to live there?
• Would education and law etc. have to be fundamentally Jewish - and if so, what does 'fundamental' mean?
• What would be the rights of non-Jewish people in the Jewish state - and what would be the rights of Jewish people elsewhere?
• How would Israel live with its neighbours?

These ambiguities remain today. It makes no sense to accept or refute "Israel as a Jewish State" unless the ambiguities are resolved. The concept is a pig in a poke (sorry to be so 'non-kosher').

Comparable and equally pressing questions also exist regarding "the Palestinian state" and its right to exist, but these get little coverage. (Note: we do not say "Palestine as an Islamic state", for scarcely anybody is demanding this.)

Today, some 100 years after Herzl, the website jewishstate.com is attempting to clarify the debate, while sanitising the language. Their demands remind me of "the language police", and include the following:

• Are we allowed to write "Jewish state" (small 's')?

"No," say the language police, "it's 'Jewish State', a proper name. There are not two or five Jewish states, just one Jewish State. ... anti-Semites, like the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church-USA speak of Israel as if its mission were identical to that of France." (The fact that identical arguments applies to "the Palestinian State" seems not to be noted .... )

• the word "Settlement"

This word should not be used: "'Settlement' carries so much baggage that the speaker automatically earns a place of honor at the council of anti-Semitic crusaders and jihadists."

• the words "fighter" and "militant" (as applied to Palestinians)

"No, sorry anti-Semitic journalists, it's "terrorist". Any person who kills civilians to advance a political objective through intimidation qualifies for this term. That applies to killers of Jews just as much as killers of Europeans or Americans."
So that's interesting. Does the IDA "kill civilians"? Is its aim "to advance a political objective through intimidation"? Surely not!

The above quotes are taken from Ezra Ben-Shalom (2009), which reminds me of the "language police".

Ezra Ben-Shalom (2009) Common mistakes in grammar and terminology that disrespect the Jewish State. www.jewishstate.com