Why does Israel Insist on Recognition as a Jewish State?

This may be one of the most misunderstood issues facing Israeli-Palestinian Peace. Most question this insistence by asking:

Why should it matter if the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish State?

Is Israel just insecure?

Whether or not the Palestinians say Israel is a Jewish State should have any effect on peace, so why does Israel stick on this point?

With these as the base, most people then conclude that Israel raises this issue for two reasons: 1. To create another problem to prevent peace and 2. to make it impossible for the Palestinians to get the Right of Return.

In order to understand why this point is so important, and why these conclusions are false, we must first establish what "recognition" means.

In this context, recognition doesn't mean they want President Abbas to say in a speech that Israel is Jewish or to just sign a declaration to that effect (though that would be a good step).

Recognition means that the Palestinian Authority must change its education system and teach its children that Jews have a right to live in Israel.

But Matt, you're saying, if the PA does that, it's as though they are saying that they don't have a right to live in Palestine!

Not so. There is no legitimate reason why two peoples can't have a claim to the same land. The Palestinians don't need to renounce their own claim. They need to teach their children that Jews have just as much a right to live there as they do, no more, no less.

If the Palestinians don't agree to this recognition and a peace agreement is signed without these changes, the peace is doomed to fail. Why would the average Palestinian accept an agreement with a state they believe has no right to exist? If Palestinian children continue to be taught from childhood that Israel is a colonial usurper, forced on the Middle East by imperialist powers, it doesn't matter what their leaders agree to on paper, they will continue to fight against Israel. The Palestinians must confront their rejectionist narrative and accept Israel as a legitimate partner.

This also means that Israel should be required to recognize an eventual Palestinian State as the nation-state of the Palestinian people. Israel will have to confront its own narrative and teach its children that Palestinians do exist and have just as much right to a state as they do. There has already been progress on this front in Israel, however, so far this has been mostly in universities.

For peace to be strong and lasting, it must be between people not just governments. That is what the issue of recognition is all about.