Western media misses key point in Obama-Netanyahu talks
Over here in Washington D.C. (where I have been for the past few days), the main event has been President Obama’s meeting with new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The tone of the reporting in many media outlets has been predictably censorious over Netanyahu’s refusal so far to endorse a Palestinian state. Reports have usually led by creating the impression that Obama had effectively lectured Netanyahu about his responsibilities to uphold previous agreements which have specifically called for progress towards a two-state solution.
The following report from the BBC is typical:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8055105.stm
But what is interesting is how the reporting has referred in passing to Netanyahu’s call during his meeting for the Palestinians to recognise Israel as a “Jewish state” but has subsequently glossed over it. This could, of course, be incompetence. But it could also represent a conscious effort to ignore a vital and legitimate Israeli demand that the Palestinians have consistently refused to accede to.
All senior Palestinian officials including Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian authority, have made it clear that they will never recognise Israel as a Jewish state. They will, however, go through the motions of telling an international audience that they will, under the right circumstances, recognise a state called Israel. The distinction here is crucial. What would that state look like? It could be a bi-national state. It could be anything. But, the Palestinians are telling anyone who will listen, it will not be a Jewish state. In other words, they are not in fact serious about recognising the real existing Jewish state of Israel.
This all adds a very different complexion to the picture, doesn’t it? A clear understanding of that reality would make it significantly more difficult to portray Netanyahu as the real obstacle to peace and the poor, forlorn Palestinians as the eternal victims, just praying for an equitable settlement in the face of an intransigent and unforgiving aggressor.