Owning Our Identity

Naomi Chazan’s article, Owning Our Identity, had a rational tone, which I appreciated when reading her argument for an Israeli state. She speaks of the Prime Minister’s demands for Palestinians and the international community to recognize a Jewish state. She responds to this by pointing out that instituting a loyalty oath and demanding external recognition of a "Jewish state" is not a sufficient way to legitimize the state of Israel. She says this strategy ignores the complexities of the conflict and such recognition is both useless and impossible.  Chazan argues using majority population, as the defining element of its political system, is a problematic concept of a state.  Chazan says, “The fact that Israel has no straightforward route to citizenship for non-Jews and no viable immigration policy mirrors the contradictions and inequities of a ‘Jewish state,’ in which the machinery of government is geared to the well-being primarily of the majority population.” The point I believe Chazan is trying to make is that the Israeli state should be striving for the right of self-determination not the self-definition and recognition.  This self-determination should be held by all citizens of the state (majority and minority) so as to remain an open, egalitarian, and just democracy.