2 State Solution

Why I don’t think it works — and what might.

One State Invitation

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As more and more countries recognize a state with no contiguous territory, no means of self-defense, no independent monetary policy or funding, and no active popular legislature, I would like to renew my personal invitation to build a shared society in a single state, built on the infrastructure of the existing Israeli state, that grants citizenship to all residents of this land, along with all the benefits and social resources necessary for the pursuit of happiness.

And as the Palestinians remaining in this land mostly descend from Israelites forcibly converted by Islamic colonizers, Zionism – as the restoration of autonomy to Israel (among other things) – has relevance and meaning for them as well. Our roots and our destiny are united.

And since the name Palestina itself is a Hellenization of the name Yisrael, I see no reason why we can’t call this country Yisrael in Hebrew, Falastin in Arabic, and either Israel or Palestine in English. Your preference.

🤷

Anyway, my invitation remains on the table. 👍

Your move, Europe.

What Two States Solve

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Thinking pragmatically about the future of the Land…

Can an additional state, without any state institutions or assets or economy or territorial continuity or independence, really make it?

And what purpose would it serve, if it did actually work and function, that wouldn’t be realized in an inclusive Israeli/Palestinian society?

Diplomacy Gone Bad: A Response and a Rant

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This damned war is continuing not because of diplomatic cover and arms for Israel but for Hamas. It would be over in a day if Hamas was not still being propped up as an active threat (!) to Israel seven months into Hamas’s failed war (waged in violation of local ceasefire agreements and of international law).

Meaningless photo ops like the Irish, Norwegian, and Spanish politicians’ paper recognition of a state with no contiguous borders, no independent monetary policy, no actual army, and no functional popular government, are simply divorced from reality – the reality of state-building and the reality on the ground.

1948 was the last year an independent Palestinian State could have emerged. That ship sailed long ago and it doesn’t help Palestinians to pretend it still would be a viable option but were it not for Israeli obstinacy.

For a long time I’ve thought that people advocating a 2 State Solution are generally (but innocently) working against Palestinian interests, out of ideological bias. This impression was understandably strengthened by the USA’s injection of 2 State discourse into strategic talks during this war (as if establishing a paper state will prevent a new generation from taking up Hamas’s banner for Iran) and is confirmed by this latest episode of European “diplomacy” in attempting to reshape the Middle East (as if their new policy will change any facts on the ground and end the various conflicts in this region).

Enough of the endless foreign meddling and paper-pushing – and of trying to fit ourselves and our situation into the cultural categories and geopolitical theories of the West. Regardless of how the agents of imperialism and colonialism distort our histories and our identities, we are one people with one common destiny. Time to return to what we know.