Politicians from both parties criticized Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday for saying Israel was at risk of becoming an apartheid state if the nation did not agree to a two-state solution with Palestine.
“A two-state solution will be clearly underscored as the only real alternative," Kerry said, according to the Daily Beast. "Because a unitary state winds up either being an apartheid state with second-class citizens—or it ends up being a state that destroys the capacity of Israel to be a Jewish state.”
Kerry made the remark in front of world leaders during a supposedly private Trilateral Commission meeting in Washington, D.C. on April 25, but a Daily Beast reporter recorded the speech. The comparison references the system of racial segregation that was present in South Africa until 1994. Palestinians and Israelis have engaged in armed conflict since Israel become a nation in 1948, displacing many Palestinians, many of whom want a nation of their own.
President Barack Obama previously said the notion of apartheid doesn't apply to Israel, and Congressman Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) took to Twitter to deride Kerry for his remarks.
Secretary @JohnKerry should apologize to the people of Israel and its government. http://t.co/bOlEEWJZ7z
— Eric Cantor (@GOPLeader) April 28, 2014
Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and any linkage between Israel and apartheid is nonsensical and ridiculous.
— Sen. Barbara Boxer (@SenatorBoxer) April 28, 2014
Two more senators, Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mark Begich (D-Ala.), also gave statements on Kerry's comment.
Rubio called the remark "outrageous and disappointing" while Begich said Kerry should know better than to get caught up in the heat of the discussions.
"Secretary Kerry knows as well as anyone that negotiating lasting peace in this region of the world is difficult but it’s not productive to express his frustration in this way," Begich said in a statement.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) took it a step further.
Secretary Kerry should offer President Obama his resignation, and the President should accept it.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) April 28, 2014
Though Cruz is the only one calling for the secretary of state to step down, Kerry has felt enough pressure to issue an apology.
"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," Kerry said in a statement released after the his remarks went public. Later, he added, "Second, I have been around long enough to also know the power of words to create a misimpression, even when unintentional."
He went on to say that if he could go back in time and change the word "apartheid," he would.
So far, at least one of Kerry's criticizers has accepted his apology.
I'm glad Sec. Kerry said his use of the word apartheid was a mistake and I appreciate his passion for peace for Israelis and Palestinians.
— Sen. Barbara Boxer (@SenatorBoxer) April 29, 2014