Israel meets U.N. criteria

Our monthly anti-Israel letter writer (“Different style of democracy,” Letters, Feb. 1) seems to exhibit a nativist naiveté, asserting that Israel is not a democracy because its Jewish citizens are favored. Why should other democratic nations follow the American model separating church and state? The Islamic world has many Islamic republics, and even in America a vociferous minority claims ours is a Christian nation.

U.N. General Assembly Resolution 181 in 1947 called for partitioning Palestine into two states, one Arab, one Jewish. Each was to be a democracy with universal suffrage, specifically including the right of women to be elected to office. Minority rights and cultures in each state were to be protected. The government of Israel appears to meet these goals.

With 61 years of hindsight, it looks like the votes against Resolution 181 by every Arab and Islamic U.N. member were motivated more by fear of creating a democratic Arab state than accepting a tiny Jewish state in the region. The Arab citizens of Israel today probably are far better off than most Arab citizens of the Arab states in the region.

Howard Glass

Spokane