Misunderstanding What a “Jewish State” Actually Means

With efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations having failed, both sides are now waging a global diplomatic campaign: the Palestinians to recruit support for UN recognition of a Palestinian state, and Israel to mobilize opposition to this unilateral move. But since both sides view Europe as the key battleground, it’s critical for Israel to address one of Europe’s principal discomforts with its position: its demand for recognition as a Jewish state.

This discomfort contributed significantly to the failure of last week’s Quartet meeting: Senior European diplomats told  Haaretz that the EU and Russia rejected Washington’s blueprint for negotiations in part because it called for a Jewish state alongside a Palestinian one.

Granted, Europe traditionally refuses to confront Palestinians with the concessions they must make for an agreement: While repeatedly declaring Israel must withdraw to the 1967 lines and divide Jerusalem, it has never been willing to say that, for instance, Palestinian refugees can’t relocate to Israel.

But there’s also something deeper at work here. As a European diplomat once told me, Europeans are profoundly uncomfortable with the idea of a Jewish state, because to them it sounds like a “Christian state” -i.e., a religious state. And while most European countries were founded as Christian states (that’s why many still have a cross on their flags), modern-day Europeans generally have little use for religion: Just 21 percent say religion is “very important” to them, compared to 59 percent of Americans, and only 15 percent regularly attend religious services (44 percent for Americans).

True, Europe is fine with Arab and Muslim countries defining themselves as Islamic states, but this isn’t just hypocrisy. While Europeans won’t admit it, they do have a double standard: Non-Westerners can adhere to “primitive” beliefs and practices like religion, but Westerners are supposed to be secular like them. That’s precisely why Europeans are often uncomfortable with America’s overt religiosity. And if Israel wants to be considered a Western country (which it does), then in Europe’s view, it can’t be a “religious” state.

The problem is this view reflects a profound misunderstanding of what a “Jewish state” actually means. Judaism has never seen itself exclusively or even primarily as a religion; indeed, you won’t find the modern Hebrew word for “religion” anywhere in the first five books of the Bible. The Biblical terms for what we today call Jews are Am Yisrael – “the nation of Israel” – and Bnei Yisrael, “the children of Israel.” And that’s precisely the point: From a Jewish perspective, the Jews are first and foremost a nation.

Thus, the term “Jewish state” is in no way analogous to “Christian state.” Rather, it’s analogous to “French” or “Danish” or “German” state. Just as these are the respective homelands of the French, Danish and German peoples, a Jewish state is the homeland of the Jewish people.

Clearing up Europe’s misunderstanding of what a “Jewish state” actually means won’t suddenly make the EU pro-Israel. But it might ease European objections to this particular Israeli demand. Admittedly, this isn’t an easy concept to get across. But since recognition as a Jewish state is important to Israel, it can’t afford not to try.