In his Wednesday speech on the Middle East, outgoing secretary of state John Kerry said a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian people was the only way to achieve piece. Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee for president, also scolded the leadership of the democratic Jewish state of Israel for failing to recognize what he called a “fundamental reality.”

“If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic. It cannot be both, and it won’t ever really be at peace,” Kerry said, adding that the Palestinians cannot “realize” their own aspirations as a people without a homeland of their own.