For weeks now, we’ve all been reading about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s demand that the Palestinians publically acknowledge the legitimacy of the State of Israel as a ‘Jewish State’ (or, as Herzl termed it ‘The State of the Jews.’). The demand is so logical, so self-evidently valid, that it enjoys overwhelming support among Israeli Jews and, until a week ago, was endorsed by Secretary of State John Kerry. Indeed, many observers found themselves scratching their heads in amazement at the absolute refusal of PA Head, Mahmoud Abbas to even consider such a possibility. Abbas has, as we shall see to his credit, stuck to his guns and absolutely refused to concede to this Israeli demand.

Predictably, Arab intransigience has engendered a move to pressure Israel to drop its demand. Secretary of State Kerry now calls the demand ‘a mistake.’ Now, Jewish thinkers, Israeli Politicians and publicists, tantalized by a potential deal are getting on the band wagon and urging that the Prime Minister’s demand either be modified or totally withdrawn. They fear for the sensitivities of Israel’s non-Jewish citizens. They fear for the democratic fabric of Israeli society. They are concerned for all kinds of reasons, many of them apparently credible. Nevertheless, they are wrong. Though they write not out of malice, such statements are symptomatic of a serious case of religious, cultural and political myopia.