Biden: How can Israel be democratic and Jewish at the same time

BBC: How can Israel be democratic and Jewish at the same time

Joe Biden voiced his 'overwhelming frustration' with Israel's government which he said is leading the country in the wrong direction, in an unusually sharp rebuke of America's closest ally in the Middle East.

The Vice President, in a speech yesterday to the pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy group J Street, offered a grim outlook for peace efforts between Israel and Palestine, reflecting dim hopes for progress during the remainder of the Obama administration.

Although he said Israelis and Palestinians shared blame for undermining trust and shirking responsibility, he criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, suggesting his approach raised 'profound questions' about how Israel could remain both Jewish and democratic.

'I firmly believe that the actions that Israel's government has taken over the past several years - the steady and systematic expansion of settlements, the legalization of outposts, land seizures - they're moving us and more importantly they're moving Israel in the wrong direction,' Biden said.

He said those policies were moving Israel toward a 'one-state reality' - meaning a single state for Palestinians and Israelis in which eventually, Israeli Jews will no longer be the majority.

'That reality is dangerous,' Biden added.


'There is at the moment no political will that I observed from either Israelis or Palestinians to go forward with serious negotiations,' Biden said. source