Rex Tillerson Uses ‘Palestine’ — Will White House Retract Remark Again?

By Dave Goldiner May 15, 2017

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used the term “Palestine” in an interview about the Mideast peace talks, just days after a White House official was forced to walk back using the term that implies recognition of the Palestinians’ right to statehood.

In a discussion about President Trump’s upcoming visit to the region and possibly moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, Tillerson appeared to equate the state of Israel and the Palestinians.

“As you know, the president has recently expressed his view that he wants to put a lot of effort into seeing if we cannot advance a peace initiative between Israel and Palestine,” Tillerson said. “

Just last week, White House social media director Dan Scavino raised hackles by listing “Palestine” as one of the destinations on Trump’s upcoming trip to the region. After reporters and others flagged the issue, he amended the itinerary to list the “Palestinian Territories.”

But with the Secretary of State himself using the term “Palestine,” will it become widely used?

That would be a blow to far right=wingers who believe there is no such thing as a nation of Palestine, that there is no Israeli occupation and that the Jewish state should be free to rule the West Bank indefinitely as it sees fit.

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at goldiner@forward.com, or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

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