Does the State Department Recognize Israel as a Jewish State

It isn't exactly clear from the transcript if you read it closely:

QUESTION: P.J., do you recognize Israel as a Jewish state and will you try to convince the Palestinians to recognize it?
MR. CROWLEY: We will continue our discussions with the parties. I would expect, following up on the Arab League meetings of late last week that George Mitchell will go to the region at some point. I’m not announcing anything, but I – it would be logical for us to follow up directly with the parties, see where they are. We will offer our ideas on – based on our conversations what our assessment is that – of what each side needs to be able to make the political commitment to remain in these direct negotiations.
QUESTION: And do you recognize Israel as a Jewish state?
MR. CROWLEY: We recognize the aspiration of the people of Israel. It has – it’s a democracy. In that democracy, there’s a guarantee of freedom and liberties to all of its citizens. But as the Secretary has said, we understand that – the special character of the state of Israel.
QUESTION: Is that a yes or no?
QUESTION: P.J., it’s – do you want to answer his question or --
QUESTION: Did you say yes or no to that question from Michel?
MR. CROWLEY: Hmm?
QUESTION: Michel’s question was a yes or no sort of question. I was wondering whether that was a yes or no.
MR. CROWLEY: We recognize that Israel is a– as it says itself, is a Jewish state, yes.
QUESTION: Okay. My question is it’s been less than two months since this whole process started and already you’re seriously hung up on the settlement issue, and I just would like to know what you guys are doing to break the deadlock, but more importantly, how you’re going to prevent this from happening over and over again.
MR. CROWLEY: That’s a very good question. We – that’s what we are involved in right now. We are working with the parties. We’re trying to find a formula that allows the direct negotiations to continue. And then through this negotiation, one of the issues that we recognize is a core issue is the issue of borders. And we want to be able to see and use the time that is available to us. If we can make progress on the issue of borders, then largely speaking, the issue of settlements is then resolved and both sides will understand how to manage this process going forward.
We are offering our thoughts to be able to move the process towards a final agreement within the next eleven months. It is not our intention to confront this issue every few weeks. We want to – and that’s why it’s important for the parties to make the political commitment, to stay in the negotiations for the long haul so we can get to – into greater detail on the core status issues.
QUESTION: So do you think it’s really helpful for Prime Minister Netanyahu to have made this demand, a final status core issue demand, right up front, early on in the process in exchange for just two months? I mean, you said that you were looking for both parties to make contributions that indicated they wanted to continue.
MR. CROWLEY: Right.
QUESTION: A lot of people would not say that Mr. Netanyahu’s request fits that description.
MR. CROWLEY: Again, we want to see the direct negotiations continue with enough room for us to move from where we are towards a successful negotiation that resolves the core issues. As we’ve said since the outset in late August, we believe that this can be accomplished within a year’s time. But we have to see – we have to get the commitment from both sides to stay into – in the direct negotiations. That’s what we’re trying to do now. And in trying to resolve this immediate issue, we’re trying to resolve it and create sufficient time and space so that we do not have to confront this, whether it’s two months from now, three months from now or six months from now. We want to see a clear path so that the parties can continue the process.
I mean, in what we’ve done so far, there have been some discussion of the core issues. We believe, based on the discussions that have been done so far, that there actually is the opportunity to resolve this conflict once and for all. That’s what we believe and that is the essence of our commitment to this process. So we don’t just want to push the can down the road two months. We want to create a clear path that allows the parties to begin the arduous process of addressing the core issues one by one with the intention of reaching a successful negotiation within a year’s time.
Samir.
QUESTION: Did you say that you recognize Israel as a Jewish state?
MR. CROWLEY: I’m not making any news here. The President, the Secretary, and others have said this before.
QUESTION: Because Abbas said they recognize the state of Israel. Does the U.S. want the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state?
MR. CROWLEY: Look, I will be happy to go back over and offer some – I’m trying – I’m not making any news here. We have recognized the special nature of the Israeli state. It is a state for the Jewish people. It is a state for other citizens of other faiths as well. But this is the aspiration of the – what Prime Minister Netanyahu said yesterday is, in essence, the – a core demand of the Israeli Government, which we support, is a recognition that Israel is a part of the region, acceptance by the region of the existence of the state of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and that is what they want to see through this negotiation. We understand this aspiration and the prime minister was talking yesterday about the fact that just as they aspire to a state for the Jewish people in the Middle East, they understand the aspirations of the Palestinian people for a state of their own.

Now, so the prime minister has put forward his ideas and what he believes his people need to hear so that they can make the commitment that we’re seeking to stay in this process and to reach a successful conclusion. This is not a one-way street. It is a two-way street. The prime minister is offering something and asking for something. It is perfectly within the rights of the Palestinian Authority and President Abbas to say there’s something I need and there’s something I’m willing to give. This is the essence of the negotiation that is ongoing and the essence of the negotiation that we want to see continue.