A two-state solution is the only way to keep Israel as a Jewish democratic state, opposition leader and Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni said on Tuesday in an address to the annual General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America.
"A Jewish state is a homeland for the Jewish people," she said. "It's not a religious state or halachic state. A Jewish state is a sovereign state that can take the decisions about the future of Israel but takes into consideration the concerns of the world Jewry."
Livni said that a Jewish state is a state wherein all citizens have equal rights, including Arab minorities.
"In order to be a Jewish democratic state, we need a Jewish majority," she said. "We need to decide between two completely different visions - a Jewish democratic state or Jews living in the entire land of Israel."
Livni said that a majority of Israelis support a continuing peace talks with the Palestinians in order to reach an end to the conflict.
"Making an agreement with the Palestinians is not weakness but represents the interest of the state of Israel and the entire Jewish people," she said.
Livni accused Iran of using the Israel-Palestinian conflict in order to gain support from radical elements.
Livni said that Israel is facing a decisive period and that it needs the support of the whole Jewish world.
"We need to fight against anti-Semitism and Iran and for the common vision of the existence of the state of Israel as a Jewish and democratic? state," she said.
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