Sunday, March 16, 2014

Whose “Recognition” Does Israel Really Need?

Whose “Recognition” Does Israel Really Need?

By Ronn Torossian 

I couldn’t care less if anyone recognizes me as Ronn Torossian.  You can call me Donald Duck, Yoga, or anything else, and if you recognize my right to live as Ronn Torossian, it couldn’t matter less to me. I am, therefore, I exist. I live in the real world, even in a world where others may think aliens are occupying Earth.

The rant above is necessary, because of the ongoing debate about the need to “recognize” Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish State. By way of reference, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said this week there is “no way” he will recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on the importance of the Palestinians recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.

And some foolishly think it matters if a piece of paper recognizes Israel’s right to exist? The Jewish right to exist in Israel needs the recognition of the Palestinian Authority? Or America? Clearly, the Arabs seek to destroy Israel “piece by piece” using “peace,” so every negotiating tactic works, but if the Palestinians miraculously decide to pursue a real peace and “recognize” Israel, I, for one, couldn’t care less.

Israel’s right to exist is the right of the Jewish people because the land is our land.  For so many reasons – and whether someone recognizes it or not is irrelevant.

In a brilliant 1977 speech in the Israeli Parliament, Prime Minister Menachem Begin gave a rousing speech in which he said,

Our right to exist – have you ever heard of such a thing? Would it enter the mind of any Briton or Frenchman, Belgian or Dutchman, Hungarian or Bulgarian, Russian or American, to request for its people recognition of its right to exist?

… We were granted our right to exist by the God of our fathers at the glimmer of the dawn of human civilization four thousand years ago. Hence, the Jewish people have an historic, eternal and inalienable right to exist in this land, Eretz Yisrael, the land of our forefathers. We need nobody’s recognition in asserting this inalienable right. And for this inalienable right, which has been sanctified in Jewish blood from generation to generation, we have paid a price unexampled in the annals of nations.

Because our Jewish state needs no American affirmation of our right to exist. Our Hebrew bible established that right millennia ago. Never, throughout the centuries, did we ever abandon or forfeit that right. Therefore, sir, we alone, the Jewish people – no one else – are responsible for our country’s right to exist.

Later, in 1977 there was an exchange between Prime Minister Begin and then American President Jimmy Carter in the White House. At the end of the meeting, Carter handed a document summarizing their meeting to Begin and asked for his approval to disseminate the short document.  Begin read the very brief text and responded, “Totally acceptable, Mr. President, but for one sentence – Please delete the sentence which reads, ‘The United States affirms Israel’s inherent right to exist.’”  Carter, who asked, “But why?” was told by Begin, “Because our Jewish state needs no American affirmation of our right to exist. Our Hebrew Bible established that right millennia ago. Never, throughout the centuries, did we ever abandon or forfeit that right. Therefore, sir, we alone, the Jewish people – no one else – are responsible for our country’s right to exist.”

Throughout history, it has been constant that the Jewish people have the right to exist, and require no one’s approval. While a piece of paper can be broken or renegotiated, what can never be broken is the Jewish commitment – and right – to the Land and State of Israel.

Israel is the Jewish State, and Palestinian Arabs and America do not need to recognize Israel as such. For, whether the world likes it or not, it is the case and will not change.



http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ronn-torossian/israel-is-the-jewish-state-and-needs-no-ones-recognition/

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