On Support for Israel
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
April 28, 2014
For more than thirty years in the United States Senate, I didn’t just speak words in support of Israel, I walked the
walk when it came time to vote and when it came time to fight. As Secretary of State, I have spent countless hours
working with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Justice Minister Livni because I believe in the kind of future that Israel not
only wants, but Israel deserves. I want to see a two state solution that results in a secure Jewish state and a
prosperous Palestinian state, and I’ve actually worked for it.
I will not allow my commitment to Israel to be questioned by anyone, particularly for partisan, political purposes, so I
want to be crystal clear about what I believe and what I don’t believe.
First, Israel is a vibrant democracy and I do not believe, nor have I ever stated, publicly or privately, that Israel is
an apartheid state or that it intends to become one. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that without a shred of
doubt.
Second, I have been around long enough to also know the power of words to create a misimpression, even when
unintentional, and if I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word to describe my firm belief that the
only way in the long term to have a Jewish state and two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and
security is through a two state solution. In the long term, a unitary, binational state cannot be the democratic Jewish
state that Israel deserves or the prosperous state with full rights that the Palestinian people deserve. That’s what I
said, and it’s also what Prime Minister Netanyahu has said. While Justice Minister Livni, former Prime Ministers Barak
and Ohlmert have all invoked the specter of apartheid to underscore the dangers of a unitary state for the future, it is
a word best left out of the debate here at home.
ENDS