Palestine-The One State Solution

if we do not soon achieve a genuinely independent Palestinian state, we will be forced to press instead for a single democratic state with equal rights and responsibilities for both Palestinians and Israelis.

Mustafa Barghouthi, a doctor and member of the Palestinian Parliament, is secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, a political party.

We agree on many things, Jolly: the "peace process" was a sham from the start, and has for years been non-existent; Israeli policy is one of ethnic cleansing and apartheid; the expulsions, demolitions and confiscations constitute war crimes. And the way the deck is stacked, two-party negotiations, even if restarted, will never yield a just peace.

Jeff Halper does a good job, in his first eight paragraphs, of outlining how the peace process has only made things worse. Halper is on the ground, he's a humanitarian and an activist, and it's clear he's a guy I'd happily have a beer with. But in his final 14 paragraphs, he demonstrates that politically he's an idiot:

First, we must endeavor to hasten the collapse of the present situation and subsequently, when new paradigms of genuine justice emerge from the chaos, be primed to push forward an entirely different solution that is currently impossible or inconceivable, be that a single democratic state over the entire country, a bi-national state, a regional confederation or some other alternative yet to be formulated. The Palestinians themselves must create a genuine, inclusive agency of their own that, following the collapse, can effectively seize the moment. Formulating a clear program and strategy, they will then be equipped to lead their people to liberation and a just peace, with the support of activists and others the world over.

"When new paradigms of genuine justice emerge from the chaos?" Fuck off, Jeff. Oooh, the Israelis won't accept our fundamental demand that we govern ourselves? Let's just change our goal to demanding that pie fall from the sky. And to achieve that, let's scrap the one imperfect instrument we have at our disposal and hope that something better magically emerges. Is Halper really putting his hopes on "some other alternative yet to be formulated?" Does he expect Palestinians to rally around that aspiration? Do you?

Hey, a single democratic state in which Jews and Arabs live in peace and harmony works for me. The concept also worked for Theodor Herzl, father of Zionism, back in the 1890s. Unfortunately, that's not been the direction things have headed for the past 60-plus years -- and Israelis show little appetite for the concept now.

You seem to be taking Bargouthi literally, that he thinks the single state is a practical possibility. I see it as a brilliant reductio ad absurdum: "We have the universal right to govern ourselves; if we cannot do it in a separate state (if our land is part of Israel) then we must exercise that right within Israel. And you don't really want that, because we're getting close to population parity." That threat is what brought Ulster Protestants to the power-sharing bargaining table.

So yeah, the idea of a single state is an excellent bargaining chip, as you negotiate partition. But nobody should think, as you appear to do, that two communities with a deep history of grievance and hatred can be brought together more easily than a border can be drawn between them. 

The "two-state solution" has supporters in both Israeli and Palestinian camps; the single state has none -- unless you count the settlers and the extremists who believe all of it should belong to the Arabs or all should belong to the Jews. I hope and believe they total less than a majority of either side.

It's Sold out!--

http://www.onestateconference.org/