Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States rejected recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.
“There are 1.5 million civilians in Israel who do not define themselves as Jewish,” Adel al-Jubeir told reporters at the U.S.-convened Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Annapolis, Md. “We do not believe states should define themselves according to religion or ethnicity.”
Al-Jubeir said he was impressed with the scope of promises at Annapolis, particularly President Bush’s call on Israel to freeze settlements and ease Palestinian travel, but said he wanted to see “the proof in the pudding.”
He said Saudi Arabia would not recognize Israel until it had achieved peace with the Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese, apparently rebuffing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s call for comprehensive peace in conjunction with the Palestinians.
Al-Jubeir did not think it was inappropriate that the Saudis refused to shake hands with the Israelis at the conference.
“This is a serious effort, we are not here for theatrics,” he said. “The time for handshakes will come when there is a peace agreement.”
Actually, the official name of Saudi Arabia is "al-mamlaka al-'arabia al-sa'udia" (The Saudi Arabic Kingdom). In other words, the ethnicity of the kingdom is quite obviously part of its official name (the same is true for the official names of Egypt, Jordan and many others). However, it should be emphasized that the very name of our country, Israel, in essence means "the Jewish people". So, eventually, when the Arab world finally recognizes the State of Israel, they will be recognizing "the state of the Jewish people". Anyone who reads the Quran knows that the Arabic term "bani Israil" (the children of Israel) - just like the Hebrew term "bnei Yisrael" in Jewish literature - simply means "the Jewish people".
Adel al-Jubeir's comment that “We do not believe states should define themselves according to religion or ethnicity” is astounding, even for a Saudi! Am I missing something here? Is Saudi Arabia not a state based upon Islam? Do they not allow the practice of any other religion in the kingdom? Did he really make this comment with a straight face? Does he think the rest of the world is stupid? Maybe we are! The only way to stop this insanity is to get off the oil bandwagon! Let them drink their oil. It would certainly be better than the stuff he drank before making this absurd statement.
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