Double standards or double think?

Saeb Erekat, one of the PLO/PA's most senior spokesman recently declared that the "Palestinians" will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state. He was speaking on Palestine Radio Monday when he gave the rationale for the "Palestinian" position. "There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined,". An interesting position to take and of course one that is frequently referred to by the "Israel is an apartheid state" crowd.

The truth is somewhat at odds with the statement as I have mentioned before. Here is a longer list than my last:
1) Saudi Arabia - The Saudi constitution states "Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic state with Islam as its religion." (see * below)
2) Pakistan - "The Islamic Republic of..."
3) Afghanistan - "The Islamic Republic of..."
4) Iran - "The Islamic Republic of..."
5) Jordan - The Jordanian constitution describes that country as an "Arab State" and notes that "Islam is the religion of the State."

Just remind me why Israel is an apartheid state and not Saudi Arabia...

*
"Saudi Arabia is an Islamic monarchy and the Government has declared the Qur'an and the Sunnah (tradition) of Muhammad to be the country’s Constitution. Freedom of religion is severely limited. Islam is the official religion, and all citizens must be Muslims. The Government prohibits the private and public practice of other religions. The Government bases its legitimacy on governance according to the precepts of the rigorously conservative and strict interpretation of the Salafi or Wahhabi school of the Sunni branch of Islam and discriminates against other branches of Islam."

"Under Saudi law conversion by a Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy, a crime punishable by death if the accused does not recant."

"Saudi Arabia prohibits public non-Muslim religious activities. Non-Muslim worshipers risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation, and sometimes torture for engaging in overt religious activity that attracts official attention."

"The Government does not permit non-Muslim clergy to enter the country for the purpose of conducting religious services, although some come under other auspices and perform religious functions in secret. Such restrictions make it very difficult for most non-Muslims to maintain contact with clergymen and attend services. Catholics and Orthodox Christians, who require a priest on a regular basis to receive the sacraments required by their faith, particularly are affected."

"Proselytizing by non-Muslims, including the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials such as Bibles, is illegal. Muslims or non-Muslims wearing religious symbols of any kind in public risk confrontation with the Mutawwa'in. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, approximately 50 so-called "Call and Guidance" centers employing approximately 500 persons work to convert foreigners to Islam. Some non-Muslim foreigners convert to Islam during their stay in the country. According to official reports, 942 foreign workers converted to Islam in the past year. The press often carries articles about such conversions, including testimonials. The press as well as government officials publicized the conversion of the Italian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in late 2001."

"The Government requires noncitizen residents to carry a Saudi residence permit (Iqama) for identification in place of their passports.[4] Among other information, these contain a religious designation for "Muslim" or "non-Muslim."

"Until March 1, 2004, the official government website stated that Jews were forbidden from entering the country"

"According to Alan Dershowitz, "in Saudi Arabia apartheid is practiced against non-Muslims, with signs indicating that Muslims must go to certain areas and non-Muslims to others.""

"According Saudi policy for tourists, it is not permissible to bring Christian or Jewish religious symbols and books into the kingdom and they are subject to confiscation"