Jewish State

The ultranationalist party led by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has unveiled two bills targeting Israel's Arab minority, one that would outlaw the Arabs' traditional day of mourning over the birth of Israel and another that would require an oath of allegiance to the Jewish state. Both bills face opposition within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition and uncertain prospects for approval in the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

I cannot recall a more important meeting between an American president and an Israeli prime minister than today's meeting between President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Will the Obama administration have the courage to challenge Netanyahu, or will all the talk of change dissolve in the face of a concerted one-two punch from Netanyahu and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee?

The often-quoted warning by the late Israeli statesman Abba Eban that "Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity" in peacemaking tells only part of the story. All parties have missed opportunities to end the epic Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and if the Obama administration does not act quickly and forcefully, we may lose the only viable option for lasting peace: two states for two peoples. The two-state solution, Israel and Palestine side by side in the Holy Land, has been U.S.

It's hard to imagine now, but in 1944, six years after Kristallnacht, Lessing J. Rosenwald, president of the American Council for Judaism, felt comfortable equating the Zionist ideal of Jewish statehood with "the concept of a racial state -- the Hitlerian concept." For most of the last century, a principled opposition to Zionism was a mainstream stance within American Judaism. Even after the foundation of Israel, anti-Zionism was not a particularly heretical position.

Re "The kingmaker?" Opinion, Feb. 11 Let me get this straight: It is because of right-wing politics that the peace process has foundered. Right-wing politics. Not Hamas rockets. Not Hezbollah missiles. Right-wing politics. M.J. Rosenberg has confused cause and effect. It is not right-wing politics but a combination of the failed policies of successive governments of all political stripes, Palestinian intransigence and the rise of the Hamas terror state in Gaza that have rendered Israel bereft of left-leaning peace options.

From 1948 on, the Arabs still living in Israel -- those who didn't flee or weren't driven out when the state was established -- were allowed to become citizens. They could vote in free elections, criticize the government and run for public office, privileges denied to many of their Arab brethren elsewhere in the region. An Arab was elected to the first Knesset in 1949, and today there are 12 serving in the 120-member body. But don't conclude that life for Arabs in Israel has been easy.

Israel is becoming a right-wing country. That is the most significant thing you need to know about Tuesday's election returns. In a sense, this is no surprise. Israel has been moving right for years. It was not until 1977 -- almost 30 years after the establishment of the state -- that the right won its first election, when Menachem Begin became prime minister.

Israel's top court overruled a parliamentary panel that had barred two Arab parties from next month's election. The Central Elections Committee had disqualified the Balad and United Arab List-Taal parties after hearing arguments that they identified with the Jewish state's enemies and campaigned against Zionism. Arab lawmakers appealed to the High Court of Justice.

The boutique sells designer outfits, but the agitated talk among the women in fur coats and leather go-go boots is about politics, specifically Israel's war in the Gaza Strip. "Everyone around here hates Israel," says Dana Abu Zannnad, the anger rising in her voice. The 31-year-old Jordanian homemaker and her husband, a wealthy businessman, are among the country's new jet set.