EU Media: Israel is the Jewish State, and only we can say that

As I'm sure you all know, the Israeli parliament recently started debating a law officially declaring Israel a "Jewish State".

The debate was reported in every European paper with editorials explaining the problem with it.

Which surprised me, because many in the European media constantly refer to Israel as the Jewish State.

Personally, the term makes me uncomfortable.  I think this constant reminder that "hey, we're talking about Jews here" borders on the antisemitic.  As far as I can see, Israel is the only country that gets a moniker based on its character and not, for example, based on its location ('the Middle-Eastern state').

However, I've never complained about it, because it's actually true.  Israel is the one and only Jewish state.  In some cases, it also makes sense to point it out.

What I find surprising, though, is that the same media that until now bothered to remind its readers that Israel is a Jewish State, is now feigning complete ignorance on the topic.  "Israel is a Jewish State? Really?  Isn't that..  undemocratic or something?"

I cannot say this about every European country.  In some countries it's more endemic, and in some it's only used in some related context, but here's a few representative examples.

If any readers can point me to more media in other countries, please drop me a note.


United Kingdom

• BBC article on Gaza misery: Israeli restrictions on Gaza were increased after the Islamist movement Hamas, which had carried out scores of deadly attacks against the Jewish state, took over in 2007.

• The Independent sub-title of article on Palestinian unity government: Jewish state warns Palestinian leader and deems new unity government  a ‘leap backward’

Ireland

• Irish Independent article on Hamas peace talks: The Jewish state says Hamas often operates from civilian locations.

•  Irish Independent article on Israel appropriation of land in West Bank: Some 500,000 Israelis live among 2.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territory that the Jewish state captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

Norway

• NRK article on demonization of Jews in Palestinian media:  Palestinsk tv, finansiert og delvis kontrollert av de palestiniske selvstyremyndighetene, får nå kritikk for å støtte opp under et fiendebilde som er med på å demonisere den jødiske staten.
  
  Translation: Palestinian TV, financed and partially controlled by the Palestinian Authority, is now criticized for supporting an enemy-image which demonizes the Jewish state.

• NRK article on Angela Merkel's speech in the Knesset:  Angela Merkels påskebudskap til israelerne setter prikken over i-en for den prosess som Konrad Adenauer innledet allerede ti år etter Hitler-Tysklands nederlag da han opprettet diplomatiske forbindelser med den jødiske stat og senere betalte en stor kollektiv erstatning for tap av liv og eiendom.
  
  Translation: Angela Merkel's Passover message to the Israelis puts the finishing touches on the process Konrad Adenauer initiated already a decade after Hitler-Germany's defeat, when he established diplomatic relationships with the Jewish state and later paid a large collective compensation for loss of life and property.

Germany

• Zeit article on the al-Quds demo in Berlin and whether it's antisemitic or not: Darum, wie rund 1.200 Menschen nichts Böses gegen Juden sagen, aber umso mehr über den jüdischen Staat Israel.
  
  Translation: And so, as around 1,2000 people speak no evil of Jews, but do so all the more of the Jewish state of Israel.

• Süddeutsche article on whether Israel should smash Hamas or not:  ie kämpften damals unter Jassir Arafat noch mit Gewalt gegen den jüdischen Staat.
  
  Translation: [The PLO] who were then under Yasser Arafat and still fought violently against the Jewish state.

Belgium

• HLN article on the ICC decision regarding the Marmara: De beslissing dreigt critici van de Joodse staat, die stellen dat Israël door zijn nauwe banden met de VS en de EU nagenoeg immuun is voor internationale vervolging, op de stang te jagen.
  
  Translation: The decision threatens to stir up critics of the Jewish state, who argue that Israel, via its close ties with the US and the EU, is virtually immune to international prosecution

• HLN article on African refugee camps in Israel: Mensenrechtenorganisatie Human Rights Watch hekelt het dat de Joodse staat vluchtelingen uit Eritrea of Sudan dwingt naar huis terug te keren, terwijl zij daar blootstaan aan zware schendingen van de mensenrechten.
  
  Translation: The human rights organization Human Rights Watch was critical that the Jewish state forces refugees from Eritrea or Sudan to return home, while they're exposed there to serious human rights violations.

France

• Le Monde headline on the recent Gaza war: L'Etat juif et le Hamas engagés dans une « désescalade » pour éviter un nouveau conflit
  
  Translation: The Jewish state and Hamas engaged in "de-escalation" to prevent a new conflict

• France24 article on the 2012 Gaza war: Il fait également état de 850 blessés, dont 206 enfants et 140 femmes. Côté israélien, l’État hébreu annonce trois morts, dont une femme, ainsi que plus de 60 blessés.
  
  Translation: He [Hamas minister] also reported 850 wounded, including 206 children and 140 women. On the Israeli side, the Jewish state announced three dead, including a woman, and more than 60 injured.

Spain

• El Mundo article on Israeli political reality - En Israel, uno puede ser médico, de confesión drusa y coronel del Ejército del Estado judío sin que suponga una esquizofrenia.
  
  Translation: In Israel, one can be a doctor, Druze and a colonel in the army  of the Jewish State without being schizophrenic.

• 24 Horas article on the recent Gaza war: Israel y las facciones palestinas acordaron el miércoles extender el cese al fuego de tres días en Gaza por otras 72 horas, dijo un funcionario palestino, pero poco después el Estado judío reanudó los ataques contra el enclave costero.
  
  Translation: Israel and the Palestinian factions agreed on Wednesday to extend the 3-day ceasefire in Gaza for another 72 hours, said a Palestinian official, but soon after the Jewish state resumed attacks on the coastal enclave.

Italy

• La Repubblica article on a recent terror attack in Israel: Lo riferisce la stampa israeliana, precisando che secondo la polizia, il giovane palestinese del capo profughi di Askar a Nablus, in Cisgiordania, e' entrato illegalmente nello Stato ebraico.
  
  Translation: The Israeli press reports that according to the police, the young Palestinian from the Askar refugee camp in Nablus, in the West Bank, entered the Jewish state illegally.

• La Stampa article on the recent Gaza war, and a supposed massacre of civilians for which Israeli apologized:  Nel fragore delle armi, la diplomazia è sembrata parlare soltanto al Cairo, dove le fazioni palestinesi - nell’assenza voluta di Israele e grazie alla mediazione egiziana del presidente al-Sisi - hanno posto le basi per un difficile negoziato indiretto “in tre fasi” con lo Stato ebraico per un cessate il fuoco a Gaza e una soluzione della crisi all’origine del conflitto.
  
  Translation: In the fighting, diplomacy was only discussed in Cairo, where the Palestinian factions - in the deliberate absence of Israel and thanks to the Egyptian mediation of President al-Sisi - have set the stage for difficult indirect negotiations "in three phases" with the Jewish state for a ceasefire in Gaza and a solution at the basis of the conflict.