Perry: Palestinians Must Recognize Israel as a Jewish State

By Aaron Goldstein

Texas Governor and GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry wrote an op-ed taking the Palestinians to the woodshed for their plans to seek UN recognition of a Palestinian state. He also admonished President Obama for distancing himself from Israel while pursuing engagement with Iran and Syria. While the Obama Administration has been notable for exerting pressure on Israel, a Perry Administration would put the pressure where it belongs:

The United States must affirm that the precondition for any properly negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is the formal recognition of the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state behind secure borders.

Now I have no illusions that the Palestinian Authority is prepared to do such a thing. They don’t want to live side by side in peace with Israel. But if Perry wins the GOP nomination, is elected President and somehow finds a way to get the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, it would be the greatest foreign policy achievement of his presidency. But even if that doesn’t come to pass, at the very least a Perry Administration would hold the Palestinians accountable for their actions in a way the Obama Administration simply won’t.

{The American Spectator/Matzav.com Newscenter}