Several loose thoughts that should offend just about everybody!
1) You loose a war (And the Palestinians have lost more then a few) Bad things happen! reality despite what the Palestinians and so many commenters here seem to think. If you loose you DON'T get to dictate terms.
2) You can talk about UN resolutions all year. But you know what? The only difference between Toilet paper and a UN resolution is Toilet Paper has use. The paper UN resolutions are printed on is too stiff.
3) There is effectively no one on the Palestinians side to negotiate with. No one could make a deal stick. And they have NEVER dealt in good faith. The Israelis aren't nice people but the Palestinians aren't exactly innocent either.
4) The Israelis will NEVER EVER grant full rights to the Palestinians1 They would soon be a minority in Israel. And considering the Arab track record on minorities? That would be SUICIDE. Not going to happen.
5) No Arab state wants the Palestinians either in case your curious. Maybe they shouldn't have tried to overthrow the government of Jordan so often when Jordan had control of the West Bank. It tends to make other governments paranoid about having Palestinians around. I wonder why?
6) Nations borders are born and secured in blood it isn't anything new. And almost every nations borders are settled in war. The Israeli's are no saints and they don't treat the locals very nice. But you know what? The Palestinians LOST life is tough. No one as any obligation tho the losers!
13
Friedman starts with the lie that the peace process has become a farce. In fact, there never has been a peace process. There has been a process of Israel ceding land and Palestinians demanding the destruction of the state of Israel. There was no progress before Netanyahu (or even before and after Oslo) and there will be no progress after Netanyahu. Friedman wants an Israeli visionary, like Rabin or Sharon. They did not advance peace. They gave Palestinians land and guns, with the result more death on both sides.
Friedman proposes no answers to Hamas calling for the destruction of the state, Abbas paying Palestinians to kill Israelis and all Palestinians demanding the right of return and the right to “find a Jew – kill a Jew”. He proposes an Israeli leader to just give up land, no peace plan or peace required.
The farce is believing there was or ever will be peace. Peace must start with peace and an acknowledgement of the truth – there is NO peace because Palestinians are more interested in killing Jews than peace. There was NO peace process with the Nazis because they were more interested in killing Jews than peace. There was nothing a Jewish leader could do to appease the Nazis and there is nothing an Israeli leader can do to appease the Palestinians.
9
It was always a farce due to the Palestinians never wanting a two-state solution. They have always wanted the entire land which they claim as their own. Any two-state solution would just be a stepping stone to expelling all the Jews from their midst. Read the Koran. And get real.
11
One hesitates to name "THE PROBLEM" since Friedman has ably set out several SECONDARY ones, appropriating the those where there's room for a modicum of nuance and blame to be apportioned to both sides. At the risk of seeming like the bull in the china shop, one unmentioned problem makes any solution impossible: Palestinian refusal to allow a Jewish state in Dar El Islam. No Palestinian leader will acknowledge the Jews' right to a state in what they regard as Palestinian sacral land-- notwithstanding that the Jews are the UR-population and every day archeologists unearth more evidence. Now they claim to descend from the Canaanites, the previous assertion about the Hellenic Philistines having been laughed into oblivion. As all historians know, the Arabs erupted out of the Arabian Peninsula in the 8th century CE, nearly 4,000 years after the Hebrews conquered that land. But history apart: no Palestinian leader could sign a treaty giving the Jews a state and live to see the ink dry. Abbas, a feckless corrupt man whose academic laurels hang from a black-comedy thesis denying the Holocaust, speaks moderation in English and Jew-hatred in Arabic. He's aging, unwell and soon will be dead. The next stage be a war between the corrupt but survivalist PA and Hamas, whose Jew-hating fanaticism is even greater. Once Hamas prevails, all empty pretense of seeking peace will be laid aside, and Israel will have no choice but to remain a mailed fist.
10
The ultra orthodox in Israel and the Christian Fundamentalists who seek the Rapture have joined forces through Trump and Netanyahu.. None of the groups recognize Palestinians and Muslims as partners in anything. To them the messiah has appeared in the form of these two charlatans one of whom now refers to himself as the second coming. Trump has divided the US Jews into GOP Jews who worship him and Bibi and antisemitic Jews who are Democrats or critics of Israel.
I smell the effects of Stephen Miller who is Trump's top advisor and speechwriter. The Anti Semitic elements Trump and Miller appeal to must be overjoyed.
Hitler shrewdly turned Jews against each other by supporting Zionists and breaking a worldwide Jewish boycott. Trump has learned well.
5
Before the creation of Israel, Palestinians lived on 92% of the land called Palestine since Roman times. The UN partition gave the Arabs less of their homeland than they gave to the Zionists. Of course, the Palestinians rejected the deal. Then Clinton offered them 22% cut in pieces with all natural resources and movement controlled by Israel. Its like saying you residents of New Jersey moved out without compensation as a people whose ancestors lived there 2,000 years ago want your home. And, if you don't move quickly enough watch out.
9
There is a plan: The Arab Peace Initiative. It is supported by Palestinians:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Peace_Initiative
7
A manly-man US president would tell Netanyahu and the Israelis that they must STOP stealing Palestinian land, they must return the land they stole after some particular date maybe when a previous deal was made or got close, and must vacate all settlements built since then. And say this to Netanyahu with fists banging loud on his desk in a righteous paroxysm of fury. Otherwise, the president should say, all aid will be cut off now, cold turkey, and they can face the anger of their land-theft victims on their own.
9
The problem with a Palestinian state degenerating into open warfare is the core issue - the Black September movement was a conflict in Jordan from September 1970 to July 1971 between the Jordanian Armed Forces, under the leadership of King Hussein, and the PLO, under Yasser Arafat from 16 to 27 September 1970, with the expulsion of the PLO to Lebanon as of July 1971. In Lebanon, the PLO destabilized the nation, participated in the Lebanese Civil War and were ultimately expelled from Lebanon in 1982 and fled to Tunisia. The reality is that every nation that has ever hosted the PLO or HAMAS or Palestinian Islamic Jihad was at war with Israel and that no peace is possible except at the point of the gun of Israeli military superiority. Israel like King Hussein in Jordan has been forced to fight 3 wars with HAMAS (2008–09) - Operation Cast Lead; (2012) - Operation Pillar of Defense and
Gaza War (2014) - Operation Protective Edge and all of these wars were fought after PM Sharon unilaterally gave the PLO the GAZA Strip. So the notion of land for Peace and 2 state solution is suicide for Israel as it was for King Hussein in Jordan. The PLO and HAMAS leadership believes in violence and that is their identity. They would know what to do with Peace. They would rather kill and be killed. So go ahead and claim BDS is not anti-Jewish - it is the continuation of the PLO-HAMAS war on the only Jewish nation.
5
There were no settlements between 1948 and 1967, but the Arabs were just as hostile to Israel and just as intransigent as they are now. Remember the three "Nos"? They failed to liquidate Israel by force of arms in spite of massive Soviet help, so they are now pursuing economic warfare (BDS) and a relentless propaganda campaign that has been surprisingly effective when it was embraced by assorted "useful idiots" who believe English-language Arab slogans but fail to understand what the Arabs are saying to each other in their own language.
The bottom line is that the Arabs' idea of "peace" is for Israel to commit suicide. That is not going to happen, and the "peace process" will remain what it has always been: a charade that is all process and no peace.
6
Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib recently posed in front of a map where Holy Land and Palestine conveniently replaced Israel. See? We managed to put unqualified people in Congress who seek Israel's destruction.
6
Isn't as plain as the nose on your face that Israel doesn't want peace, they want the Palestinians gone. They have been pushed and marginalized and minimized for a couple of generations now.
Israel's actions mesh completely with the racist in the white house.
8
Jews have no right to their "historical homeland." That's just trumping the argument by insisting that God is on their side.
They needed a place to resettle after the Holocaust. Taking over all of Palestine and calling themselves Jewish and Democratic was the original sin.
A non-theocratic single state respecting the rights of all of its inhabitants would be Human and Democratic.
8
Any Muslim leader or local chieftain knows that the day he signs a peace deal with Israel is his last on this Earth.
The Shia terrorists and the Sunni Wahabbis are solidly aligned on this. A real peace deal will have to wait until the Arabian peninsula has run out of anything to sell to the West.
4
Tom, as an admirer of yours from way back, I do take issue on this one. You state, "We have peace plans with no partners and movements with no peace plans."
It seems you and many of the commenters have forgotten years 2000 and 2008, of Israeli/Palestinian history. I would like to note the following:
Fatah wont give up their banner of Dar al-Salam, 'the world for Islam'. No infidel will ever be allowed to impinge on 'their' territory. They'll eternally be opposed to negotiation- as they continually warn that, "we will push the Israelis into the sea".
I mention the years 2000 and 2008 above. In both these years Israel offered to withdraw from the West Bank and to create a viable Palestinian state, no strings attached. In both cases the offers were
summarily rejected, with no counter-offers.
So, how many times do you try to negotiate with someone who wants to
annihilate you? They couldn't through wars in '48, '56, '67, '73, etc., and now they're attempting to hurt Israel through BDS. They're using Somali-born Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, and her ilk, in abetting their cause. This is the same Congressional representative who ignores the plights of her Minnesota Native Americans, the same person who can't seem to control her Minnesota Somali community which has become the terrorist recruitment capital of the US. How sad her attempts to govern others, except at home.
So, Tom, how much more will you ask of the Israelis that you do not ask of any other country in the world?
5
" ... the rights of the Jews to a state in their historical homeland." - This is the insane blood and soil argument characteristic of ethnic nationalism. What about the rights of descendants of the Canaanites whose land, with the help of Yahweh, was stolen by the Jewish people? In the nineteenth century, the 10,000 Jews in Palestine plus the Jews living in Europe, had the right to take over Palestine against the wishes of 600,000 Palestinians living there because their ancestors had lived there 2000 years ago? Since the ancient Persians ruled Palestine for many years, do Iranians also have a claim on Palestine? Or how about the Turks, descendants of the Ottomans who ruled Palestine for centuries?
5
Forget for now trying to broker peace with Israel - I have an LGBTQ daughter of college age and I can't believe that a gay person has no rights at all in Gaza or the West Bank. A simple gathering by a LGBTQ group was banned in the West Bank by the Palestinian Authority. A few years ago Hamas executed a prominent commander on the suspicion that he had gay sex. He left behind behind two wives and three children. And this is only what we've heard about in the media. None of this behavior in democratic Israel where LGBTQ people have the most rights of any country in Asia and march proud and strong and have rights as any other Israeli citizen. When Hamas and the PA get their act together on LGBTQ rights then maybe we'll try to achieve peace.
https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/PA-bans-LGBT-activities-in-West-Bank-598980
https://www.newsweek.com/prominent-hamas-commander-was-executed-after-accusations-gay-sex-432343
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_State_of_Palestine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Israel
6
Can anyone prove, definitively, that modern day Jews are descended from people who inhabited ancient Palestine? I’ve known many Jews, none looked Semitic to me. Religion aside, I wish they’d chosen some other place to settle. Why don’t we give them Wyoming? The reaction of Palestinians to this European invasion was & is entirely normal.
4
The support for BDS on this comment board is troubling, sad and reflects incredibly narrow thinking about this conflict and who is to blame for it. Israel has only ever wanted two things - (1) agreement from it's neighbors that Israel has a right to exist and (2) confidence that their people will not be attacked by terrorists, fanatics and foreign financed fundamentalists. The PLO never delivered on either of those asks, preferring to hold out for Israel's destruction. Now Hamas, a globally recognized terrorist group, controls Gaza, Iran continues to funnel money and weapons into the area, and Israeli security is measured in the months or days between attacks rather than years or decades between wars. And despite all that, people on this board support waging economic war on Israel? Shame on you.
3
It’s always been a farce. The only real solution is a single state.
1
Messes are much, much, much harder to clean up than prevent. And nobody wants to clean up this mess.
I need a definition of Israel's rights to a state in their historical homeland. Is title to land dependent on scripture? Are there justifications for seizing land by military conquest as means of occupying and absorbing the land? What is the distinction between Rhodesia and the Israeli occupation of Arab lands? Building settlements in the West Bank was calculated to complicate if not kill a two state solution, true or false.
Israel's wants, owning and controlling all of the land, run contrary to its need to remain a Jewish State. Jared cannot provide the answer to a problem created by Israel, leaving the Arabs. powerless. An oversimplification perhaps, but not by much.
3
US involvement in the Israel-Palestine issue has always been disingenuous. It has always been based on Christian apocalyptic yearnings.
But why should the Palestinians bear the brunt for what is, essentially, another failure of European colonialism. And we must call the settlers by their true name: colonists.
Where are the British? Do they not have a moral and ethical obligation to the region?
Where are the Germans? Certainly the moral impetus for the creation of Israel is a direct results of German politic failure to put it exceedingly lightly.
Likewise, claims about the moral failings of 20th century Arab governments in the region must be reframed for what they are: claims about the post-colonial order that was forced on the region by white Europeans and white US citizens.
3
Friedman and others blithely discuss the fate of the peace process and what the Palestinians may, or may not, end up with. They do so in a closet, totally ignoring the fact that almost 2 billion people on this planet are committed to the Muslim faith which demands all of the faithful to fight against injustice.
I would suggest that the solution must be justice for the Palestinians, otherwise Israel and the US will have at least 2 billion enemies going forward.
4
Outstanding analysis, as usual. He is right to question the still unclear details of the B.D.S. movement. But he's also right to question Netanyahu's motivations. Netanyahu, in his bid for re-election is equating himself with Zionism and any that oppose him are antisemitic. Not unlike Trump contiuing to pit Jewish Americans and Islamic Americans against each other. These are fake divisions.
1
Climate change may take care of the problem. It's going to get so hot that no-one is going to want to live in Israel or the West Bank.
Hmmm, if only Greenland was for sale.
3
There are approximately 2.5 million Palestinians currently living in Israel, with the same rights as Jewish Israelis. Presumably they would continue to do so if a Palestinian state was established. Would Jews be permitted to live in this new country? I doubt it.
4
Tom, why do you consistently overlook Barak and Olmert's sincere offer to return the vast bulk (95 percent as a beginning negotiating stance, not a final position) of the territories to the Palestinian? Or that Arafat turned down any and all magnanimous peace deals in favor of turning Tel Aviv into a human hamburger mill? A Danse Macabre by two delusional parties? Or a stark realization that neither Arafat nor Abu Mazen could or can strike a deal of any kind.
5
For all you who want to blame Israel, I have a simple thought experiment for you. Disclaimer: I am absolutely disgusted by Trump's comments and behavior...but I'm not gonna pretend "the squad" is heroic or even in the know. Here it goes: Imagine if the Palestinians had Israeli-like military capacity, and the Israelis had Palestinian-like militias. Did it click yet? There ya go. Israel is not at all innocent, but let's not pretend it's a simple oppressor-oppressed dichotomy -- like the one that's been a woke fad on my college campus for years now.
3
The two-state delusion rests on the malign myth that either an Islamist Muslim state of Palestine or a Zionist Jewish state of Israel could ever be confused with a civil secular plural democracy.
Indeed, the Palestinian 'state' would be a lobotomized neutered chimera.
While an Zionist Jewish Israeli 'democracy' is as hypocritical cruel and unusual as was Apartheid South African 'democracy' or Jim Cow American 'democracy'.
Either the 6 million Christian Muslim Arab Palestinian Israelis under the dominion of 6.1 million Jewish Israelis by occupation, blockade/siege, exile and 2nd class citizenship are divinely naturally created persons with certain unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness or not.
But for the fact that 80% of the world's 16 million Jews were evenly distributed between America and Israel this wouldn't even be an issue. Only 1.8% of Americans are Jews. But 71 members of Congress recently visited Israel. Instead of Puerto Rico or the South Side of Chicago or a First Nations aboriginal reservation.
While there is no American state nor territory nor possession named Israel there is a domestic Jewish ethnic sectarian supremacist AJC and ADL domestic lobby. Along with a AIPAC Israel supremacist domestic lobby.
The one-state solution of a civil secular plural egalitarian democracy is the only fair, just and moral option. While the Jewish state could legally and morally be carved from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and/or Russia.
2
Forget the current administrations in the US and Middle East for a moment. At least the US and Israel have presented specific plans for two-state settlements. We have all read descriptions. But has Mr. Friedman ever read a peace plan from a Palestinian or Arab leader? (That didn't involve the destruction of Israel). What are they and why aren't they publicized in the NYT? Has Mr. Friedman asked Ms. Omar and Ms. Tlaib what specific ideas they have to further a peace plan?
3
Israel unilaterally exited the Gaza Strip, pulling out all settlements and letting Hamas govern the territory. The result has been an seemingly endless stream of rockets originating in the Strip combined with repeated terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens. If I was an Israeli citizen, why in the world would I want Israel to pull out of the West Bank and run the risk of a barrage of rockets and terrorism from the West Bank? It was the Palestinians, driven by their desire to eliminate Israel, who killed the two-state solution. Now they have to live with consequences.
5
I don’t appreciate the biased photo selections chosen to accompany the headline about peace between two parties who have both committed atrocities. You didn’t include any photos of the bulldozing of Palestinian homes or of the hundreds of funerals for Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in your article. Instead there is one of Palestinian youths demonstrating and then nice professional pics of Israeli politics.
2
This should have been over in 1948, but the Palestinians turned down a state since they only want one that is built on the ashes of Israel.
This should have been over in 1967, but the Palestinians turned down a state since they only want one that is built on the ashes of Israel.
This should have been over in 2000, but the Palestinians turned down a state since they only want one that is built on the ashes of Israel.
This should have been over in 2008, but the Palestinians turned down a state since they only want one that is built on the ashes of Israel.
This should have been over in 2014, but the Palestinians turned down a state since they only want one that is built on the ashes of Israel.
This should have been over, but the Palestinians don't want peace, they want another war. Except this time they win a heroic victory and they humiliate the hated Jews. And their supporters indulge the Palestinian's fantasies, so they respond to peace plans with war (2000), silence (2008) and dismissal (2014).
6
Peace has never really been intended:
"[We shall] spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment. Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly." - Thedor Hertzl, 1892
"The compulsory transfer of Arabs from the valleys of the proposed Jewish state could give us something which we never had, even when we stood on our own feet during the days of the First and Second Temple.... We must expel the Arabs and take their places and if we have to use force, to guarantee our own right to settle in those places, then we have force at our disposal." - David Ben-Gurion, 1937
The phrase “push all the Jews into the sea, dead or alive” was only ever uttered by David Ben-Gurion, falsely ascribing it to Arabs.
Israel has in part been established through ethnic cleansing, and a lot of propaganda.
"Those to whom evil is done do evil in return." - W. H. Auden
2
Please stop calling him Bibi. He's not a cute buddy. He's a corrupt incompetent.
3
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF NON STARTERS For the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. The major players aren't playing any game at all. Netanyahu is busy defending himself against criminal charges and aligning himself with extremist right wing ultra orthodox parties. The Palestinian leadership is stalled. The Gaza Strip elected Hamas, a terrorist group, whose charter proclaims its prime objective as destroying the State of Israel and, if I'm not mistaken, getting rid of the Zionists and Jews in the process. Then there's Jared Kushner, who's a slumlord of a large number of rat, rodent and vermin infested apartments with which he rips off African American tenants. The situation is far worse than magical thinking. Those involved in the peace process are AWOL. Those who pretend to be peacemakers have as their prime objectives, lining their own pockets at the expense of the Peace Process in the Mideast. Could things be worse? Don't ask. This is the Mideast. Things could and will always get worse! Don't ask how! You'll find out soon enough. A word of advice to those in Gaza: Stay away from the border wall. You engage in acts of war against armed soldiers. If you attack them they will fight back. Demand that Hamas create jobs! Study free online courses and get internet jobs.
2
I've commented elsewhere that I think since 1948, the goal of the Israelis has always been to acquire the maximum land with the minimum Arabs. Israel has always been willing to accept a partition on its terms, but those terms have never been acceptable to the Arabs. In the absence of the Arabs agreeing to a partition that Israel can accept, the Israelis are content to let the Palestinians suffer until they can't bear it any longer and either leave or capitulate. The endless "peace process" has always been a charade as Israel has no incentive to offer a partition on anything but favourable terms for itself, as the alternative of simply waiting out the Palestinians (for centuries if necessary) while the Israelis slowly accumulate new "facts on the ground" (i.e., slowly appropriate more land for settlements) is perfectly suitable to Israel's long-term goals.
I don't think a two-state solution is possible anymore. The West Bank has been too chopped up by settlements, and moving the settlers is neither practical nor just. So where does this end?
The answer is that the current status quo can go on a very long time as the Israelis can wait it out indefinitely. The Arabs meanwhile have little incentive to agree to a bad deal for them. If their status is not significantly improved by the offered deal, why bless their current status with their approval? Better to resist and hope against hope that eventually the impasse breaks in one's favour. Continued stalemate is thus most likely.
6
The alternative to a continuing stalemate depends on something dramatic happening. Unfortunately the old liberal Jewish Israel seems to be being replaced with an increasingly right-wing ethnic-nationalist state. It is far less Western European and American in character and far more Russian and Middle Eastern.
If the old liberal Western Jewish ethos still dominated, I could imagine a federation of Israel and Palestine, where both peoples had their own states, but they shared the land, with people of both states able to live and work throughout the territory. This is a highly idealistic solution—and one that fits, I think, with the old liberal Zionist ethos. It's also one that I would love to see, as it would be a triumph for humanity.
More likely, though, as Israel becomes ever more right wing and nationalist, we end up with an ugly conflict where Israel is willing to be even more aggressive in permanently oppressing—or actually trying to ethnically cleanse—the Palestinians. Where it goes then will depend on how the rest of the world reacts. Certainly, Israel left unchecked can do what it wants with the Palestinians. They are weak and Israel strong. The big question then becomes whose side does the rest of the world take? Or does the rest of the world just choose to stay away? I have no answer to that.
Anyway, my guess is the stalemate continues for decades more, maybe with the Palestinians eventually giving up or maybe with it all ending in some horrible atrocity.
1
@617to416
Once a border is drawn, settlements on the Palestinian side of the border become part of Palestine & the settlers become Palestinians.
Because the Jewish settlers are generally wealthier than the Palestinians, their presence is good for the Palestinian economy.
1
Prohibiting two Representatives from Congress from entering Israel is not just a political move by Netanyahu and Trump, it is also -- and more importantly -- direct interference with the Congressional voting process. If the two banned Representatives cannot see first hand how Israel is using American aid, they will be less knowledgeable and less informed than the other Representatives when it comes time to vote on aid to Israel. And if Trump can get Israel to ban two Democrats, he can get Israel to ban all Democrats, thereby enabling a foreign government to interfere with and exercise a degree of control over the Congressional voting process. While Israel's wrongful interference in the Congressional voting process may not be as serious as Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, it is still quite serious and merits consequences. Since Israel is interfering most directly in the process of voting on aid to Israel, the most logical consequence for Israel's wrongful interference would be to stop all further aid to Israel unless and until ALL Representatives from congress are permitted entry into Israel to see firsthand how US aid is being used there.
5
@John Cahill
Barack Obama Barred A Member Of The Israeli Knesset From Visiting US In 2012
The solution is simple. It lies with the most basic of grievances. We need Democracy. Give the Palestinians equals right and a vote and the people there will eventually work it out. Either they converge on a one state solution or a two state solution. In either case the people will belong to a state with representation and rights.
America’s job is not to force any particular solution. Our job is to push for our values. A right to representation. Equal protection under the law. Freedom of speech. Freedom of worship. Civil rights.
7
@NKM
The Israeli's would have to be....suicidal? to accept such a thing. The Arab treatment of minorities leaves much to be desired? putting it mildly! Any otherwords not going to happen
1
@NKM
Gaza have no freedom of speech, no freedom of the press, no freedom of assembly no freedom of religion & no vote.
It makes no sense to blame the Israelis or the Jews because there are no Israelis or Jews in Gaza. Jews lived in Gaza for centuries, but were ethnically cleansed by the Palestinians in 1929. If the people of Gaza want freedom, if the people of Gaza want their rights, they need to overthrow Hamas.
2
There's exactly one realistic and workable plan: Annex Gaza and the West Bank, expel all Palestinians to Jordan and other countries, pay reparations to help those countries house them and help them get started. Clean separation.
This is basically what Poland did with its Germans after WW2 (sans reparations). It certainly creates hard feelings, but freed from the daily friction that keeps the wounds perpetually fresh, the two peoples can become friends or at least get along after a generation or two.
4
@GS The Germans were expelled from land that they seized from Poland and occupied at the point of a gun. They had deported 2.5 million Poles and imported Germans in their place, for "living space," you know.
I don't think this bit of history (ordered by terms of the Allies, not Poland) provides the lesson you intend.
3
@GS This is FAR too good an idea to work while the U.S. has progressive socialists making the decisions, but it COULD work during a second Trump/Pence term.
As frightened as European leaders are of Muslim terrorism, the plan can't expect much support there outside of perhaps Hungary and Poland.
It is time for the United States t stop giving Israel $30 billion a year. There have been many reasons given for the foreign aid. The most common seems to be a notion that if Israel feels secure it will make the hard decisions necessary for peace. We are further from peace today than any time I can remember. Certainly the two sides were closer when Rabin and Arafat led the two people. The fact that we also support a dictator in Egypt with the second highest allocation of out foreign aid to keep Egypt from supporting the Palestinians is just as troubling. The United States' foreign aid preserves the status quo and we should be ashamed of ourselves. How many more decades will continue to waste our money and support the subjugation of the Palestinians?
9
@Bored
We give Israel $3.8 billion per year.
What does Hamas want to do after it defeats Israel?
When the rocket attacks first began against Israel, a senior Hamas leader, Dr. Yunis Al-Astal, published an article in the Hamas journal, Al-Risala, where he compared Hamas’ al-Qassam rockets to the Manjaniq catapult which the Prophet Muhammad used against the Jews of Khaybar. The fall of Khaybar, he explained, opened the gates of the Byzantine Empire to Muslim conquest and was the first step towards the fall of Constantinople. Now, the fall of Israel, he said, would open the gates of Europe to Islam and lead to the fall of Rome.
Hamas MP and cleric Al-Astal proclaimed in 2008, “We will conquer Rome, and from there continue to conquer the two Americas and even Eastern Europe” (Al-Aqsa TV, April 11, 2008)
It’s in our interest to give Israel weapons so that Israeli soldiers will fight
Hamas over there rather than needing to have American soldiers fight Hamas over here.
3
In a recent trip I spent seven of our ten days in Bethlehem in the West Bank. Our guide was a Palestinian and shared with me that in order to leave the country he had to cross over to Jordan. He could not fly from the Tel Aviv airport. This was not the only travel restriction imposed on the Palestinians. He summed it up by saying "all we lack is freedom". It was a poignant statement made without anger.
We do not realize how fortunate we are to live in the U. S.
10
@Steve Daniel
Palestinians were coming into Israel & murdering Israelis. That's why there are travel restrictions.
The Palestinians have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. From the time of the British Mandate until now they have been weak, disorganized and corrupt. Instead of actively participating in creating a state of their own from the time of the Mandate and UN Partition, they have resorted to boycotts and terrorism time and again. What has that gotten them over the past 70 years? If the Palestinians had accepted the just and fair UN Partition Plan, they would have had an economic union with Israel, those on the Israeli side would have kept their homes and would be citizens of Israel and Jerusalem would be an international city. Missed opportunity after missed opportunity. Israel has never had a partner for peace.
6
An absence of true leadership exists on both sides. Mahmoud Abbas is an old leader whose writ runs in very little of Palestine. Benjamin Netanyahu writ may run only until the next Israeli election. No vision is the only vision. No solution, either.
5
Tom Friedman is absolutely right. He is the world’s best illustration of the value of a Brandeis degree. Three fundamental irrefutable truths: first, there will never be peace until the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority want it more than the rest of the world including the U. S. ; second, there will never be peace until the Government of Israel is willing to forcibly remove Israelis from parts of the West Bank, and, third—equally important—there will never be peace until the Palestinian people and their leaders sincerely agree that they are never going to be able to live in the remaining part of Israel.
1
@Buster Bronx The answer is for Israel to offer compensation to expelled Palestinians, the kind of compensation they themselves have sought in Europe.
1
@Buster Bronx
Why was there no peace when there were no Israelis in the West Bank?
1
I have always been pro Israeli and pro Palestinian. I imagine today that may sound oxymoronic. Mentioning Jared Kushner’s name in a published article seriously regarding any subject, however, also seems oxymoronic. I have no idea how a peace between Israelis and Palestinians and the entire rest of the Arab region can ever be achieved given the last 80 years of bilateral hatred and abuse. I have a map of the Middle East I bought in Egypt 20 years ago. Israel does not appear on it. Instead the region is called Palestine on the map. How many jewish settlers on the West Bank who feel entitled to the land they are living on because of biblical references were born and bred in Chicago. My father who was Croatian once told me in the 1980’s, after years of peaceful coexistence among the people of what was then Yugoslavia, that the world would see a bloodbath of historical proportions after the death of Tito. He did not live to see it but the rest of us did. I have great personal difficulty living with the pessimistic outlook derived from following current events for 55 years. It is hard for me to see any other alternative.
8
There is no plan in the definition of a political tragedy, where two conflicting sides want the same thing but only one side, so each believes, can have it. The tragic belief is shared by both Palestinian leaders and Israeli Jewish governments. No foreign third party will mastermind a Solomonic solution by halving the land into two adjacent nation states acceptable to both sides, because the Israelis insist on military disarmament of and control of the Palestinian territories, including the right to intervene in their lives. The conflict, effectively, unites each side in violence, when it ought to unite them in peace
3
@Bayou Houma
The Jews accepted the UN Partition Plan,
the Arabs didn't.
Israel signed peace treaties with Jordan & Egypt even though that meant giving up large areas of Biblical Israel. That shows that Israel is more interested in peace than in land.
Palestinians have been murdering Jews for a century & teach their children to murder Jews so if they ever say that they have decided to stop murdering Jews, it's their responsibility to prove that they have really changed. Until then, they should be disarmed. Were we wrong to insist that Japan be disarmed after world war 2?
1
It is absurd having US citizens offering solutions for a small country thousands of miles away. The following statements proves that: "President Trump says he will release Kushner’s plan after the Israeli election, but I would not trust that for a second. Trump’s only participation in this process has been to exploit it by being slavishly pro-Bibi to win political donations from Sheldon Adelson and votes from Jews in Florida."
Americans just exploit the situation for their own purposes. How does that author have the effrontery to suggest that US politicians form their opinions on Israel based on the donations they expect. Ilhan Omer had to apologize to Nancy Pelosi for that. At any rate there is no reward for supporting colonization and bigotry.
4
"B.D.S. does, though, specifically call for a boycott of Israel until it stops “its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands,” but it’s vague on whether that is just the West Bank and East Jerusalem..."
BDS isn't vague about this at all. From the website the 1st of its three demands:
1) Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall
International law recognises the West Bank including East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Syrian Golan Heights as occupied by Israel.
That's pretty explicit.
6
@cldcvr
When Omar Barghouti, founder of BDS, says, "definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No Palestinian, rational Palestinian, not a sell-out Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state,"
It's crystal clear that the goal of BDS is the destruction of Israel.
3
Bias is like wearing a pair of glasses with one lens missing.
1
What has Kushner actually done?
1
Buy Jordan, not Greenland. Or at least a large chunk on the East Bank all the way down to the Red Dea. Give the Palestinians a homeland as large as Israel. Bar Israelis from making one shekel on the building and greening of the Palestina State.
1
Cheers for Friedman. He so often draws the varied facts together and makes sense of complex issues.
1
But — but Jared!
2
Israel is already an apartheid state. B.D.S. helped to end apartheid in South Africa. The US should tie any further financial aid to Israel to the formation of a Palestinian state. Since Oslo, the Israeli right has controlled Israel and destroyed the peace process. The growth of al Qaeda and ISIS created other imperatives over the last two decades that overshadowed the fact that our main allies in the region have fell into despotism. The US now relies heavily on it's own Axis of Evil -- the US-Israel-Saudi Arabia alliance. Basically, the US government is acting abroad in a manner that is contrary to the values of America. And, those values are under assault by the current administration, who has tripled down on our reliance on Saudi and Israel in addition to committing its own atrocities. American foreign policy is fractured. The Middle East is in a permanent state of instability. These things are going to get worse before they get better. We need some good leaders to take the helm, or the catalyst for change will be some horrific event like an all out war.
4
@Stephen
“The Red Cross was very familiar with the regime that prevailed in South Africa during the apartheid period, and we are responding to all those who raise their claim of apartheid against Israel: No, there is no apartheid here, no regime of superiority of race, of denial of basic human rights to a group of people because of their alleged racial inferiority."
2
After all of these decades we are still fighting in the Middle East! Who’s to blame??? Who knows? The winners of WW 1 distributed their eastern winnings mostly to Arabs. Meanwhile Jews were being persecuted while fleeing the war in Europe. Many sought refuge in the Middle East where land was partitioned by the British. The Jews were not welcomed by the Arabs, who declared war on them. The first of many wars followed. Multiple attempts at reconciliation failed. There was venom all around and no real compromise. Ultimately any chance for peace was gone. What we have learned is how pathetic we have been and remain. Shame on us!
3
Great summary and only bolsters my belief that the direction that this needs to go in is a three state solution.
Gaza and the West bank are functional separate states, and the world needs to stop treating them as single entity in the peace process. As Gaza has continued to boil over (due in great part to Hamas's refusal to accept Israel in any form), the West Bank has been a better potential partner for peace. The best way to move towards peace would be to work with the Palestinian Authority to establish a Palestinian state rooted based round the West Bank population.
4
Yes there is no Peace process in the holy land and that is by design, both the Arabs and Jewish Leaders are looking out for their self-interest and not necessarily of the people they represent. US involvement in the whole process is another fiasco, I will not blame the Trump Administration because they do not believe in long term peace or any deals; they are transactional, Trump just cancelled an official trip to Denmark because he felt slighted by the Prime Minister of Denmark telling him that Greenland is not for sale.
Quite a long time ago you had warned that the window for two State solution was closing, it did close and now most of the people of the world would begin to see Israel as another South Africa or Rhodesia as Begin said – when there are different laws for different people. It is a sorry state and Trump has not helped either.
It appears that we need to be working for a Single State with Jeffersonian Democracy very similar to ours. I believe Israel would flourish in Peace with Government similar to ours but with Parliamentary system which would give voice to every sector of the community. There is enough money and manpower to make it happen.
3
@Wizarat
A single state would soon be majority Arab.
What's the probability that that single state would be anywhere nearly as democratic as Israel?
Israel was ranked 30 out of 167 on The Economist's Democracy Index. That's better than Belgium, Greece, Cyprus & at least a dozen other European countries.
The highest Arab state is Tunisia which is ranked 69. Palestine is 109, Libya 154, Sudan 155, Yemen 158, Saudi Arabia 159, Algeria 126, Egypt 127, Qatar 133, Oman 140, United Arab Emirates 147, Bahrain 148, Morocco 100, Lebanon 106, Iraq 114, Jordan 115, Kuwait 116, Comoros 121, Mauritania 119, Djibouti 146, Syria 166. Iran 150.
Why should Israelis agree to give up their rights & their freedoms?
2
The fact that that Kushner was put in charge of the Israeli/Palestinian peace process is the proof that the US was never serious about it in the first place.
The US has posed as the mediator for the Israeli/Palestinian conflict while giving military aid and diplomatic support for one side. What kind of mediator does that?
Trump has made US policy in the Middle East very clear. Previous administrations were able to hide behind words, something Trump is not good at.
This administration has made it clear that the US stands by Israel. The remaining allies like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, they pay and the US protect them.
4
Perhaps the fastest path to peace and stability is that the USA withdraw its funding from Israel. Let them figure it out on their own. Why do we need to hold Israel's hand any longer? Why do they need our money and technical assistance? I'd rather give foreign assistance to Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, to assist those countries in dealing with anti-democratic forces left over from US intervention in that region. If the USA ceased intervening in Israel/Palestine and took a step back, perhaps Israel might feel more motivation and the necessity to employ a strategy that works, that leads to peace and stability in their relations with Palestinians and Palestine. Why keep heaping money into a conflagration that Israel will continue as long as we keep heaping money in their direction?
7
@tony
Or perhaps and much likely, they would use the tools forged at Dimona. Under the theory radioactive glass is less troublesome then Arab neighbors would be under those circumstances.
1
The problem is insoluble. Israel is not going to cede its authority in any manner to the Palestinians—why on earth should they? There is zero reason for Israel to do so as support from the US is not dependent on any type of peace agreement and settlements in the West Bank won’t be stopped. Any granting of political will to the Palestinians would weaken Israel overall. (Palestinians want East Jerusalem as their capital…not going to be supported—ever.)
Even if a magical agreement by all parties to a Palestinian state could be established, the problems would not go away. The Palestine state would be isolated economically with little ability to pull itself out of perpetual poverty.
Be patient. 100 years from now things will be different.
On a global scale this spat is inconsequential.
There's peace through courage and shared humanity and there's peace through technological prowess and apartheid. The current government in Israel is making a mistake by choosing the latter. It is counterproductive to point at historic missteps and mistakes to claim that the Palestinians "had their chance" and "they don't want peace." That was then, this is now. There will always be the violence of Hamas. Israel has to choose whether they want to live with terror as a neighbor of a Palestinian Free State or as an ever-encroaching, increasingly reviled occupying force. Economic opportunity and financial aid for a self-determined Palestine is Israel's best weapon against the likes of Hamas and their nihilistic challenge to Israelis who should be too smart to be led down the path of self-destruction. If peace is too impossible a word for Israel to believe in, then, partnership and productivity should replace it. Their authoritarian PM Bibi Netanyahu likes to say they live in a "tough neighborhood." Does adding the Palestinian Free State really make the neighborhood tougher, more dangerous? Hamas and Iran and all their enemies will still be there. But showing the Palestinians progress and incremental prosperity can begin the healing and loosen the grip of terror as an answer. Israel can do that. Israelis would respond to that direction. They just need a courageous leader who is capable of wielding that power.
2
There is no authority on the Palestinian side that could guarantee that any peace deal would stop the attacks on Israel and Israelis. Negotiations with the Palestinian Authority led to Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza, but Hamas started to fire rockets at Israel almost immediately. If Hamas signed a cease fire deal, there would almost certainly be another group taking the violence to Israel. It would be irrational for Israelis at present to hope that a negotiated settlement could be reached at any price.
9
Maybe Israelis are if not happy then at least somewhat content with the status quo. They have the wall that is keeping Palestinians in place and has reduced attacks. Also for Palestinians any realistic peace-plan looks like a surrender, and maybe they are happier (not happy) to remain the victims while hoping for the perfect peace, instead of accepting the imperfect reality.
6
Begin agreed to Camp David peace plan because Carrer forced him to do so. Begin and Israelis resented it but the peace with Egypt was a huge benefit for Israel. Of course, Begin immediately reneged on the Palestinian state portion of his agreement.
Every US President from Eisenhower to George H.W. Bush used American leverage to move Israel in America’s interest and in ultimately Israel’s long term interest. That stopped with Clinton and US leverage stopped in the last 27 years. But Clinton had a real Israeli partner in Rabin and got Oslo; Arafat failed the Palestinians. Remember Netanyahu and company vehemently opposed Oslo. Rabin was assassinated for Oslo.
Israel seems to have forgotten that it is the client state - that Israel’s survival (even with Israel’s nuclear weapons) depends on America, not the other way around.
Make America’s $4 billion/year and constant protection in UN Security Council (with US permanent member veto) conditional on pursing a two-state solution along the 1967 borders (with some adjustments on both sides). If America is firm, Netanyahu and company will buckle. Israel will pursue the peace plan then and there are Palestinian partners, who should face the same leverage from America and Arab states, to get to a just solution that benefits both Israelis and Palestinians.
There’s your peace plan. At least, give it a shot and put American interests first, which align with the long-term interests of both a democratic Israel and democratic Palestine.
3
@MC
"Make America’s $4 billion/year and constant protection in UN Security Council (with US permanent member veto) conditional on pursing a two-state solution along the 1967 borders (with some adjustments on both sides)."
Such will never happen...no US politician is going to hold Israel hostage to a two-state system.
The Peace Process did not become a farce. It has always been one
6
Kushner is not wrong to concentrate on bringing investment to the occupied territories. The only solution goes through economic normalization, no matter how long it takes. The Palestinians are a well educated and hard working people and will rebuild if given the smallest chance.
In the United States people vote on the basis of the economy (or their perception of it). In Israel, they vote on security—that is, their perception of which leader will keep them safest from rockets, intifatas and terrorist acts. That is THE issue, period. If the Palestinians were smart, they would move from violent resistance to passive resistance. Only then will Israelis’ priorities switch over to human rights concerns. And they will—in huge numbers. If only people were smarter.
6
Well, the analysis is much much simpler:
Before Netanyahu - PROGRESS
During Netanyahu - OBSTRUCTION, BACK-SLIDING
After Netanyahu - PROGRESS "may" return, hopefully.
Q.E.D.
2
How can there ever be peace if the Israelis keep building settlements in the West Bank?
And, there are the problems in Gaza: Amnesty International believes the Israeli Army is committing war crimes there by shooting and maiming Palestinians.
So, where is a plan?
4
You want peace in the area? Simple. Give it back to the Romans.
1
The B.D.S. movement is one of the stupider movements of our times. Not only is it the left's answer to the right's anti-Semitism it will accomplish nothing. Are Americans leaving Indian lands anytime soon? The Arabs tried to exterminate Jews and failed miserably. It is time for someone to tell Hamas and the PLO that if they want a state they need to act like it. There will be no shortage of Americans telling Israel what to do.
7
Is there any doubt that Arabs...themselves the descendants of invaders, occupiers, and economic migrants to a land not their own....are still trying to win the war they started 70+ years ago, and LOST?
And let’s not pretend that Jordan...the defacto Arab Palestinian state....doesn’t occupy 80% of the territory formerly referred to as ‘Palestine’. 100% judenfrei. In other words, the two state solution already exists.
Land for no peace? Been there, done that, got over 20,000 Hamas rockets and a terrorist base camp on Israel’s southern border. The last thing Israel needs is yet another terrorist enclave to the east capable of importing weapons of mass destruction.
No. Like other populations around the world, ‘limited autonomy’ is what the Arab Palestinians shall have...and after a century of terror wars perpetrated against Jews upon their own indigenous ground...it’s more than the Arab Palestinians deserve.
8
@Michaela Jordan, formerly Transjordan, was NEVER in play. It was promised to the Hashemites in 1915, pre-Balfour, was autonomous during the mandate period and was an independent country by 1946 -- two years before Israel was even founded.
The only people who distort history with this "Jordan is Palestine" business are those who wish the Palestinians would just dry up and blow away so the State of Israel can indulge its dreams of the fictional "Greater Israel."
PS - If you believe your Bible, Jews were immigrants to the Levant from present day Iraq. And they lost their ancient kingdom with the 12th an final conquest of their people, by the Romans in 70 CE. Arabs came along more than 500 years after it had ceased to be "Jewish" land.
@Michaela New genetic studies on skeletons in Ashkelon and archeological discoveries show that the Palestinians have inhabited the area at least since 1200BC.
1
There is no need for a peace plan. History and demographics, the political equivalent of the second law of thermodynamics, gives us not a plan but an outcome. The model is South Africa along with other current representations of European colonial history. There will be one country, Palisra, where both sides will recognize that a one state solution is the only viable one. This solution has already been suggested by the eminent political scientist, Tony Judt and many others. And just like the science of thermodynamics, although the end state can be predicted we cannot know how quickly or slowly it will occur. History also suggests that there is likely to be much noise and some bloodshed in the interim.
The only hope for peace begins with the Israelis throwing crooked Bibi out of office and Americans throwing crooked Trump (and Prince Jared) out of office. Hopefully that day will come soon and Bibi and Donnie will end up being prosecuted for their many crimes.
4
I wonder, if Canada and Russia teamed up, massed tanks, missiles and warplanes on our northern boarder, openly stating that their goal was not the acquisition of land, but the utter destruction of the United States, and we fought a war with them, not only beating them back but gaining control of parts of Canada, should we be compelled to give it back? Under what circumstances? What if after the war Canada continued to attack us, killing innocents, digging tunnels, shooting missiles at schools, etc? Would we feel safe? Would we believe that Canada was a true and willing partner in peace? I doubt there'd be much support for that.
If any of the above sounds familiar, it's exactly what Israel has experienced since the 6 days war.
10
Give back the land. Civilians should not be made to suffer for the actions of the power-mad politicians
1
@John
The correct example is Native Amerians getting tanks and missiles in their reservations and planning to destroy the United States government for the latter's colonization of their land.
1
Longing for the days of loot and pillage? The era of colonization was several hundred years ago. Israel wants to pretend we haven't moved beyond those days.
When wasn't it a farce. It has always jut been face saving so that more and more settlements can be built. More charade than farce I suppose.
1
It looks to me the future of Israel is probably a continued expansion of Israeli settlers into West Bank and gradual enlargement of Israel and a single state called Israel in area with no Palestinian state in existence and the Palestinians gradually pushed into other Arab lands. And all this will seem normal in a world in which tensions are high among other nations and overpopulation, communications chaos (internet fake news, propaganda, etc.) and environmental degradation exists.
It just seems the Israelis have no choice, the Palestinians just won't create a livable society for themselves and leave the Israelis alone nor will they live in harmony within a single Israeli state. It's just a slow war. And the Israelis will probably also have to take over the Gaza strip and push Arabs there into Egypt.
There is no left wing politics in that part of the world. It's all far right and the Israelis have no choice but to expand or be threatened with extinction. No single state of Israelis/Palestinians can exist and to create two states is like trying to put two vicious and opposed to each other animals into two cages next to each other, which of course neither wants, for each wants to get at the other.
The big message though of all this spread to the world is this is just the way real politics is, that behind all the idealism elsewhere this is the way things really are so we should get used to it, in fact perhaps idealism should be subordinate to reality everywhere.
1
Jared only true interest is taking care of Jared's real estate loan
searching. He doesn't appear to consult with Middle East foreign policy experts. He has apparently taken care of his first endeavor.
Where are the experts who have knowledge of how peace negotiation actually work? Has he called or met with them in the past two years?
2
I think that Mr. Friedman has ably laid out the current impasse. LIke all of us, including his many critics here and myself, he falters on an acceptable and possible solution. He does make a stab at making things a little bit better, and that's a start.
So how did that "courageous" Gaza withdrawal turn out for the Israelis? Not so good. And for the Palestinian citizens held hostage by Hamas, no so good either. Some courageous decision. More like a terrible shortsighted mistake.
6
Israel has taken full advantage of its alliance with the United States, who share the blame tremendously for leaving the Palestinians hanging dry.
We pride ourselves with values of freedom and equality, so why can't the Palestinians have their own country?
Since when do we pick and choose who has the right to their own destiny?
Let's stop beating around the bush. By unilaterally supporting Israel, we contradict those same standards our country was built on.
Shame on you America.
6
As we watch Hamas leadership make any solution impossible by their insistence on the elimination of Israel, as we watch the physical situation of the residents of Gaza deteriorate (the clean water runs out next year, and the leadership is embracing plague as their new secret weapon), yes, the only solution for the Palestinians is a semi autonomous state whose security will be monitored by Israelis, who don't want to die. Not Bibi Netanyahu, not the editor of Ha'aretz, not Benny Gantz, not Tzipi Livni, they are not docilely standing on the edge of a ditch waiting for their executioners. As simple as that. And while it was once possible to give the Muslims a sliver of Jerusalem, the suicide bombers , the rock throwers at worshipers at the Wailing Wall, the nonsense of UNESCO statements that Jews have no historical claim on Jerusalem, have made that impossible. The growth rate of the West Bank economy under Israeli control has actually been pretty good, particularly in a deteriorating world economy; settle for that, not faux claims of devotion to rights that you've never admired (anybody notice the Palestinian Authority indictment of gay rights yesterday?) and democracy that is not part of your tradition.
6
Friedman conveniently forgets to excoriate people such as himself, who for decades blithely accepted the notion that Israel could keep pouring settlers into the West Bank while simultaneously maintaining a pretence of negotiating in good faith with the Palestinians. He even repeats this position here, speaking of barely 100,000 settlers "deep inside the West Bank" while glossing over the fact that the number of settlers is about 5 times that - he assumes that most of them will get to stay without debate. It's nonsense like this coming from Americans such as Friedman that has emboldened Netanyahu and discouraged Palestinians.
3
Mr. Friedman refers to "the rights of the Jews to a state in their historical homeland."
How about the rights of the peoples 'colonialized' in these United States as "Indians"? The Mexicans in our Southwest? Their Mayan ancestors?
I pray that all people be made safe, wherever they may be -- and I understand the particular concerns of a Jewish people who suffered a genocide even more recently than Africans and the so-called "Indians" of the western hemisphere; but only the evolution of a no-favored-religion/no-favored-race/no-favored-ethnicity state will solve the game of musical-chairs with guns that the whole world has played since homo sapiens walked on two legs out -of-Africa.
In any case, a "Jewish State" -- by definition -- cannot be a Democracy. And the Jewish State of Israel -- 'as such' -- is not one, and cannot ever be one.
2
@Thomas Murray
Agreed. As a Jew I object to Israel claiming to be a democratic state while denying millions under their control equal rights. And Mr. Friedman asserts that one state for two people is a recipe for permanent strife. Historical examples refute this easy assumption. Jeffrey Halper and others are organizing a plan, A One Secular Democratic State (OSDS). That plan is the one I hope will prevail, and soon.
3
We cannot do what it takes to avoid the upcoming mass extinction caused by climate change. Is it a big surprise that the Palestinians and Israeli's cannot agree on the many in principle acceptable one or two state solutions? This dispute doesn't matter beyond our lives since the human race collectively is doing everything to doom itself.
You missed out the Trump Plan to buy the West Bank.
1
Stop calling the Blue-White party “center left”. There is nothing left about them. They just aren’t fundamentalist crazies or super-nationalist. That doesn’t make them left. Not economically, not politically.
3
Figuring out the Israeli-Palestinian conundrum is a bit like decoding the Matrix. If all humans are truly living in a computer simulation which is operating in 5, 8 or 12 dimensions then it appears that with the luck of the draw a human is born into either Israeli or Palestinian indoctrination.
Apartheid was a more black & white dilemma with most people agreeing that minority white Afrikanners or people from European descent had no business relegating African to shanty towns based on simple ape minded idea of superiority based on skin color. The idea in America of Manifest Destiny, similarly, was based on the supposed superiority of European over indigenous peoples basically wiping out the Native Americans to establish land rights for whites.
Israel certainly is a strategic ally for the USA and we have a noble alliance based on the history of religious persecution of the Jews around the world prior to establishing a Jewish homeland on what was at the time Palestinian land. Mr. Friedman has a very thoughtful idea to encourage Israeli settlers to relocate out of the Palestinian area of the West Bank to attempt to offer an olive branch to their displaced Palestinian neighbors. Of course, Kushner thought simplistically the Palestinians could simply be bought off by investment not taking into consideration the deep generational resentment & attachment to sacred land. Of course, living in a 3 dimensional material world, the Israelis have all the power based on dominance.
2
I don't think there will ever be a solution except for Israel to throw all the Jordanians/Palestinians out and build their own wall. The Arab states will never change so Israel may just bite the bullet and say enough, we're done talking to people who only wish us dead. And any Democratic party candidate who embraces BDS in their platform will lose my vote. Israel is our friend and the Arab states have proven they're not.
8
Perhaps we should stop pretending that the Palestinians want peace. They never have. They never will. What they want is for the state of Israel to disappear. Annex the West Bank. The so-called peace process became a farce a long, long time ago.
10
@Timothy Sure - but give the Palestinians the vote. You support that, right?
1
There is one historical fact here that always seems to be conveniently over looked. When Israel was formed in 1947 millions of Palestinians living in the territory were dispossessed. Now Israel has the right to exist and prosper, but it also has a responsibility to those originally living there honoring their right to a homeland and autonomy. That Israel should assume the right of a dictator over those original inhabitants is morally intolerable. For many reasons Israel needs a little more humility in its handling of the Palestinian situation rather than resorting to armed force at every opportunity.
3
What about the similar number of Jewish refugees who were forced to flee Arab countries in the same timeframe? Should they get reparations from those countries? Or perhaps we should call it a draw.
13
@just Robert mmm but dont also "conveniently overlook" the fact that the Palestinians were offered fair land at that time but chose along with half the Arab world to attack Israel instead and gamble their chances on a victory - which was not forthcoming, so "dispossessed" is a little rich, maybe "placed a lousy bet and lost" is more apt
11
@just Robert
The generally accepted number of individuals impacted in 1948 is ~700,000, not millions. And many of those left of their own free will, banking on Israel being destroyed in a matter of days. And how did their Arab brethren welcome them with open arms into their states? Oh, wait, they put them in displaced persons camps where my understanding is many still languish today. So much for brotherly love. In 70 years, those people could have been working to build lives for themselves. But instead they became disposable pawns in a conflict.
7
I have sympathy for both sides and, certainly, hope the Palestinians will achieve equal rights as Israelis. Yet, the Palestinian uprising after Arafat rejected the Barak/Clinton peace proposal, which saw savage attacks on Israeli citizens - an uprising known as the 2nd intifada - caused Israeli civilians to lose hope in the two state solution. This led to a rightward shift in the Israeli consensus on the peace process. The great challenge to any peace plan that divides the land is that there is so little of it. Israel, proper, and the Palestinian territories are tiny. A one state solution would leave Israel as a majority Arab state, but there is something coherent about sharing these small lands. Perhaps there can co-exist two nations in one country with guarantees for mutual rights.
2
Just who would guarantee? Who would want to and who would Jews trust? The entire point of Israel might be summed up as”NEVER AGAIN” Nice thought but that’s what every Jewish person agrees with. The how is difficult.
2
@terrance savitsky - Or we could simply do as my mother would do when my brother and I fought over something - take the toy away and send us both to our room.
Tell both sides they have 60 days to figure out a solution or the rest of the world is going to remove them all and give the land to Guatemalan refugees.
Both sides are right. Both sides are wrong. One side has committed genocide several times in the area and once upon a time killed all of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The other side would like to catch up.
The UN should move to Jerusalem and take total control and tell both sides to go to their room.
Maybe Kushner hasn't yet revealed his secret peace plan because Step #1 is that the U.S. acquire Greenland. Palestinians then relocated to there, after native Greenlanders are permanently relocated to Trump detention centers along the Mexican border).
6
There's no reason Israel should make peace with anyone who denies its rightful existence.
17
Part of the problem is the myth that the difference between Hamas and Fatah is that while Hamas seeks Israel's elimination, Fatah seeks a state for its people but can otherwise accept Israel remaining. The actual difference is that Hamas seeks Israel's elimination with help exclusively from those who share that goal. Fatah seeks Israel's elimination but recognizes that those who share that goal are not strong enough to make that happen and thus seeks support from useful idiots in the West who claim to oppose that goal to make it happen. One necessity for getting such support is paying lip service to accepting Israel's presence if only Israel will...
To those who object to my characterization of Fatah, what behavior would you expect from a Fatah that genuinely would accept a permanent presence of Israel provided that Israel meets some reasonable set of conditions and what behavior would you expect if the claim to be that is a ruse to gain support for eliminating Israel from those who believe Israel has a right to exist? Which set of behaviors does Fatah's actually resemble?
9
Living in peace isn't that complicated. We used to call it living by the golden rule. But let's be honest the American government and many Jewish Americans have been giving Israel billions every year for what, over 50 years. Is it any wonder that Israel is greener and more powerful than their adversaries. Arab states have contributed aid to the Palestinians but only enough to keep them alive and not enough capital to create a flourishing state. And why is that so? Because it serves ultimately the "Oil" interests of America and the Gulf states. A lack of a solution promotes strife and instability, and that generates higher oil prices which is good for U.S., Arab and Russian oil producers. It's good for making excuses to support a large military investment to "protect the oil". Follow the money people. It is, and has always been about the money and the distraction that the Palestinian Israeli conflict provides multiple regimes to distract their populaces. The Palestinians are pawns of this multinational oil and military industrial complex. The Israeli's don't care about what's right and keep on voting for rightwing men like Bibi regardless of their corruption. Israelis care only about their own theocracy. They use force to control Palestinians economically and socially. This is genocide. Gaza is nothing more than a large concentration camp. Israel is annexing the West Bank in real time without compensation because they can and the U.S. allows it. Morally right, not.
7
The 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av (August 10-11, 2019) was a Jewish fast day known as Tisha B’av, the collective day of mourning that commemorates the destruction of both the first and second temples in Jerusalem and the many other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people throughout recorded history; but I found no mention of it in the Times when it was recently observed, a curious omission in a newspaper of record headquartered in New York City famed for printing all the news that’s fit to print.
Just as today, I find no references in Mr. Friedman’s column to the steadfast determination of Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and Israel’s many other enemies to one day eliminate Israel from the map of the world, regardless of the hundred years it may take.
Still unrepentant after all these years of absolute determination to turn back history by destroying Israel, they remain steadfast in their desire to bring Jews fresh reasons every year for mourning their losses on Tisha B’av.
If Mr. Friedman and the four congresswomen who have recently been in the news wish to go to the West Bank to urge the people there to reject their present leaders and the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran and accept Israel as their permanent Jewish neighbor in exchange for an independent, demilitarized Palestinian State of their own, I'm with them.
16
... in exchange for an independent, demilitarized Palestinian State of their own, I will be with them.
But not until then.
2
@A. Stanton as usual A Stanton one of the best comments on the board!
3
Brilliantly stated and heartfelt!
1
Israel gained nothing but heartache by ceding Gaza. It will only get more of the same by ceding the West Bank. What the BDS movement does not seem to understand is that the Palestinians will never tolerate any infidel (i.e., Jewish) sovereignty over any part of what they consider “Islamic” land. It wants recognition of rights for a people who have no intention of according the same rights to others. Make no mistake: the goal of the Palestinians is destruction of the entire State of Israel. And the BDF movement is their handmaiden.
7
"B.D.S. ...... demands the return of all Palestinian refugees and their descendants since the 1948 war"
Why does Friedman paint this as unreasonable, when it is in total conformance with long established law and UN resolutions.
8
The two worst afflictions to plague human culture are nationalism and religion. The polity of the Middle East is determined by religious nationalism. The mixture creates an affliction with the greatest virulence. There will be no solution until those cultures miraculously outgrow both elements of the toxic blend.
1
I've said this thousands of times... In the enclaves of Beverly Hills, CA reside some of the wealthiest and influential Jewish and Muslim families in the world. Funny we never see any fighting, gun shots and rockets exchanged. The point being.. If they can live peacefully together here.. certainly they can coexist over there!
2
Menachem Begin was one of the architects of a Jewish (Zionist)“Rhodesia” in the displacement and confiscation of Arab Palestinian homes for European Jewish settlers. So his hypocrisy was to defend the Israeli border expansions by expelling the Palestinians in all but military control. Ever since, Israeli governments have refused to give the Palestinians what most of the ancestors of European Jews always wanted in pre-WWII European countries where they were in the Palestinian Arab shoes: they wanted Justice, Equality and Fraternity, not policing of their ghettos.
Now Israeli demographic “facts on the ground,” as a succession of Israeli leaders have put it, among both Palestinians and Israeli Jewish settlers make any “plan” irrelevant, if not impractical. The truth, as Joe Biden might say, is more important than the facts. Like it or not, both peoples have been drifting inexorably into life in a unified state. Jewish policing of the Arab territories without their consent ironically unifies the two peoples in perpetual conflict, exactly like white governments of Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa. Apartheid was a fictional plan upset by a reality of a black majority. For both Israelis and Palestinians now there is no need for a “plan,” or grand planners, only for a mutual recognition of the reality that they have one de facto state, but two governments in need of unity.
2
"...while making no mention of the rights of the Jews to a state in their historical homeland."
Saying all Russian or European or African or Asiatic Jews have a right to a home in their "historical homeland" is like saying all Italian-Americans have a right to annex part of what is now Italy, for a state of their own. It's ridiculous.
Look at any ANY world map from 1945. There's no State of Israel. The area was clearly called "Palestine".
Of course Jews deserve a homeland, but misrepresenting what BDS is doesn't help.
1
@Jack Lemay
In 1945, as well as thousands of years before and 20 years after, everyone understood that "Palestinian" was a synonym for a Jew who lives in Israel. That changed in 1968 when arabs led by Arafat, for the first time in history, began calling themselves Palestinian in order to fool the historically ignorant into thinking they had an ancient claim to the land.
Th fundamental situation is that there will be no peace between two neighbors who don't want to stop fighting. DUH!
Mr. Friedman,
An excellent piece, except for one point.
Please to be stopping referring to Benjamin Netanyahu as "Bibi". For me, the word connotes a term of endearment for either a newborn baby or a guileless child.
To call Benjamin Netanyahu "Bibi" would be like calling Benito Mussolini "Mussi".
1
The two-state solution is the only lasting peace deal. The Palestinians will have to agree to Israeli control of the external borders of the new Palestinian state, and the Palestinian state will have no armed forces except for internal police. For Israel, this means security and survival. If the Palestinians can't swallow these terms, forget it. On the other hand, the Israelis will have to agree to East Jerusalem being the capital of the new Palestinian state, and the Israelis will have to withdraw from many of their settlements in the West Bank. If they can't swallow this, forget it. It's not that hard. Just a matter of human pride, which of course usually wins out....meaning, no deal.
3
I hold out hope that the younger generations on both sides will take a non-religious, agnostic approach and form a coalition to make Israel and Palestine a one-state, one-people nation.
Why absolutely no mention of the Arab League Peace Initiative, on the table since 2002, renewed in 2007 and again in 2017. It offers Israel full diplomatic and trade relations with 57 Arab nations in return for a just settlement of the Palestinian issue. A full, regional peace would seem like a worthy goal.
The latest iteration of the plan called for some token returns to Israel but withdrawal of settlements from the West Bank so a viable Palestinian state might follow. Is Israel prepared to do that or not? If not, there's your real obstacle to peace. Beating the drums for annexation of the West Bank (and the de facto annexation of the Golan Heights) leaves little doubt about what Israel really wants.
1
@sharpshin
The Arab league initiative calls for return to 1967 borders, which are indefensible with current weaponry. Even the UN has rejected the 1967 borders in a formal resolution. The Arab League proposal is a disingenuous proposal to render Israel so vulnerable that the Arab world can destroy it.
2
@PCh "Indefensible with the current weaponry?" What? Are you kidding? Nuclear weapons are not enough against rock-throwers? The Iron Dome gifted by US taxpayers isn't working well enough?
Israel voluntarily and unilaterally accepted the portion of Palestine assigned to Jewish immigrants when it declared independence and sought international recognition for its new state. Are you saying they never really meant it?
Israel already had expanded beyond its original borders following the 1948 war -- which, by the way, was not fought on its territory. The expansion never stopped...the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and Sjheeba Farms, none of them were in the parcel of land Israel accepted as its own.
The narrative of this article is wrong from the get go. Why not present a picture of Armored up Israeli troops pushing around Palestinians instead? Or perhaps begin with a picture of the occupation instead of the resistance to start off your narrative?
I feel sorry for the Palestinians. This occupation is unjust and no population must be uprooted from their homes and be treated as stateless citizens. Being critical of Israeli occupation is OK and you shouldn't be vilified for these beliefs.
Being critical of Netanyahu, a foreign leader is OK. Since when do we begin placing undue loyalty to foreign leaders over our own leaders? This whole conversation has gotten gas lighted by Trump and Omar/Tlaib. Omar and Tlaib have a humanitarian rationale. Trump is strictly politics.
I am not sure how honest the polls are or how representative FOX is on the views of US populace thought's on this matter. You speak to many Americans and they see that Israeli interests are being elevated over their day-to-day interests. Netanyahu may hold on, but at what social cost?
4
@John
I don't feel so sorry for a people who repeatedly choose war when they could live in peace with Israel instead.
@John
Read a history book and then re-think your post. Israel has been threatened with extinction, attacked by Arab states and attacked by terrorists for decades. You want to paint a picture? How about a picture of innocent women and children blown up while riding a bus? How about a picture of a father and son killed by a terrorist in a knife attack? How about entire families wiped out by terrorists with AK-47s? How about a child killed while eating their breakfast when a rocket fired from Gaza crashes through their roof? Feel free to feel sorry for Palestinians, but don't for a second forget that their suffering is, in large part, self inflicted.
Mr. Friedman, why don't you try reading Ali Abunimah's One Country.
His proposal for one bi-national secular democracy with equal rights for both Israeli Jews and Palestinian Muslims is the only path to a lasting peace in the Middle East.
2
There is no peace process and there hasn't been one for years. Netanyahu and the self proclaimed Palestinian leaders really don't want an equitable peace.
3
"How the Palestinian-Israeli Peace Process Became a Farce?"
Simple! When you kill, jail, and slander anyone that you can negotiate with, then you can go out and claim that you have a peace plan but no "partners" with whom to negotiate. That also allows you to suddenly present your side as a peace loving nation that does not want to occupy other people's land. But, since no one from the other side is stepping forward to agree with terms of your peace plan, it must be a clear indication that the other side is rejecting the peace. So, that leaves you with no choice to continue your occupation, which you have no choice but to accept reluctantly.
This is the same strategy that Mr. Trump - most likely based on, direct or indirect, advice from Bibi Netanyahu - is implementing against Iran. He has placed the Iranian foreign minister, with whom the US is supposed to negotiate, under sanction, while he is claiming that he want to negotiate with the Iranians "but they are not ready."
6
I think more Americans would support the BDS movement if its goals were more realistic, for example stopping any new settlements in the West Bank and returning Israel to its pre-1967 borders.
"The other quote is from Sharon, who once remarked to Ross when asked about his big decision to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza in 2005: “My generation is the last one that is not afraid to make big decisions. I fear that the next generation will be led by politicians and they won’t decide.”
In America we are so far away from that kind of generation it's not even in the rear view mirror.
I see your farce, Mr. Friedman, and add to it, some historical perspective.There have been plans for as long as there has been a "Palestine" - when there were Jewish Palestinians, Muslim Palestinians, Christian Palestinians, and Druze Palestinians, among others, living together therein...
In the (relatively) Modern Era, the first "Palestinian" state created was an Arab/Muslim one called Transjordan in the early 1920s. Thereafter a plan to create two additional "Palestinian" states (one for Jews and one for Arab/Muslims) was proposed in 1947 but firmly rejected by the latter. The Oslo Accords created an additional "Palestinian" state (for Arab/Muslims) on the Gaza Strip, leaving the West Bank as yet another potential "Palestinian" state - with a mandated "right of return" for all displaced Arab/Muslim Palestinians.
Yet through it all, there's been no mention of a "right of return" for Jews in places from which they've been expelled: Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria,Tunisia, Turkey, etc. Just blamestorming - some valid, but most, one-sided.
6
It’s not stupid to consider financial incentives to bring Palestinian and other Arabs around to accepting Israel’s existence. It may not work but at least it’s a new angle.
I would bring Jordan in allow them to annex Arab towns east of Jerusalem with financial incentives and Israeli guarantees of security. I would offer every Gazan money to reject Hamas.
Israel is approximately 20,770 sq km, while Jordan is approximately 89,342 sq km. The populations of both are about equal. Why doesn't Jordan just welcome the Palestinians in?
6
@Jacob Why should Palestinians be forced from the lands where they have lived for hundreds of years? To make Israelis comfortable? What they really want is the land without its people.
The fact is 80% of Israelis live on just 20% of the land within the Green Line that is indisputably their own. Instead of developing that land (96% of which is owned by the State Of Israel), they are colonizing land across their borders. Why doesn't Israel invest at home?
1
Perhaps Mr Friedman would do well to read some of the early remarks of David Ben Gurion. And I paraphrase - Everyone talks of a solution to the problems between Arabs and Jews but only a few realize that there is no solution. And Ben Gurion wrote this around 1920.
3
"Kushner deserves some credit for fresh thinking about how to attract investment to the West Bank."
How is that fresh thinking when he only cares about the desires of Bibi and Israel?
4
It's it's always been a farce No Israeli government has ever negotiated in good faith with the Palestinians.
4
@HoosierGuy
Has any Palestinian ever negotiated in good faith with Israel?
1
In every column, and this one is no different, the author speaks of Israel's leadership and the Palestinian leadership.... and then dismisses the Palestinian one! So whom is this courageous Israeli leader expected to negotiate with?
So Mr. Friedman's solution is to unilaterally withdraw from the West Bank but in a coordinated fashion. Coordinated? I'm not even sure what that means. We know that Sharon tried the unilateral part and the results weren't good.
The truth is that if someone as powerful as Arafat couldn't make big decisions without worrying about being shot or blown up, I can't see anyone else stepping to the front for the Palestinians.
In the end, it takes two.
1
International law says that a victorious army may occupy territory won in battle, but it cannot build settlements there. Israel can hold the west bank militarily until a peace settlement, but it cannot colonize it. So the settlements are the problem and the answer rests on solving that problem.
5
Israel has shown clearly and consistently since 1967 that it has no intention of withdrawing from the West Bank, as new settlements have been formed consistently since then.
There are two choices: one democratic state for all, from the river to the sea, or ongoing apartheid, where Jewish Israelis have full rights and all others are subjugated.
Let's be sure not to call the latter a "democracy."
8
@Judy
Israel withdrew from the Negev, and gave it back to Egypt in exchange for peace. Israel gave Syria much of the land it conquered in 1967 in exchange for nothing. And it gave the Palestinians all of Gaza.
The Palestinians who refuse to live in peace are not the victims. They are responsible for their suffering.
4
@PCh
So if a thief takes $10 from me and offers me 50 cents in return I I should praise God for his generosity?
3
As long as Israel places a higher priority on filling the pools in Israeli settlement pools over the needs of Palestinian West Bank farmers, peace is impossible.
3
Menachem Begin was one of the architects of a Jewish (Zionist)“Rhodesia” in the displacement and confiscation of Arab Palestinian homes for European Jewish settlers. So his hypocrisy was to defend the Israeli border expansions by expelling the Palestinians in all but military control. Ever since, Israeli governments have refused to give the Palestinians what most of the ancestors of European Jews always wanted in pre-WWII European countries where they were in the Palestinian Arab shoes: they wanted Justice, Equality and Fraternity, not policing of their ghettos.
Now Israeli demographic “facts on the ground,” as a succession of Israeli leaders have put it, among both Palestinians and Israeli Jewish settlers make any “plan” irrelevant, if not impractical. The truth, as Joe Biden might say, is more important than the facts. Like it or not, both peoples have been drifting inexorably into life in a unified state. Jewish policing of the Arab territories without their consent ironically unifies the two peoples in perpetual conflict, exactly like white governments of Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa. Apartheid was a fictional plan upset by a reality of a black majority. For both Israelis and Palestinians now there is no need for a “plan,” or grand planners, only for a mutual recognition of the reality that they have one de facto state, but two governments in need of unity. “For there’s a train to Jordan/Don’t need no ticket/Just climb on board.”
1
"the rights of the Jews to a state in their historical homeland"
Typical biased phrase.
A) If Jews have a right to that land, then so do the Palestinian refugees.
B) If the Palestinians lost their right to the land by losing the war that created modern Israel, then the Jews lost that same right by losing the war against the Roman Empire that destroyed ancient Israel.
But Israel wants it both ways. Land rights for Jews, no rights for others.
4
@Fat Rat
You forgot C) to the winner goes the spoils. That's how America was founded, was it not? Since the dispute about who has the most ancient "right" to the land will never be settled, the realistic and longstanding approach is that the winner takes it. That Israel won the 6 days war, which was unequivocally initiated by the Arab states and the Palestinians, gives them a right to that land. Period.
10
@John Actually, no. The admissability of acquiring land via war was banned after WWII -- mostly because of what the Germans did to claim, as the Israelis do now, more "living space."
1
With due respect to Mr. Friedman, his analysis is totally off. As Chomsky points out, when something is a perpetual failure, follow the money (and power) trail.
Netanyahu is particularly brazen about annexing more Palestinian land. As it stands, the Palestinians are living in less than 20% of the their original land pre-Balfour. As much as Bibi is labeled as selfish and thinking of himself more than the Israeli state, this is only partially true. Over the decades Israel has changed dramatically, the West European Jews that escaped Nazi occupied Europe has been replaced by messianic Ultra Orthodox who believe their religion is a real estate deed and Russian Jews who carry the feudal and brutalism of their home country. For them compromise is weakness and stupidity. The only dilemma for them is how to steal more Palestinian land escaping BDS or too much international condemnation.
Bibi has not better ally than Abbas whose elected term expired almost a decade ago. His family and cronies have gotten rich off the PLA corruption while he has been complicit in Israeli land grab. No elections will ever be held, too much money to be made keeping the status quo. Every once in a while he will say something outrageously anti-Semitic to prove he is loyal to Palestinians and to keep the "stalemate" perpetuated.
Kushner's mission is a distraction to keep him in D.C. He is totally incompetent even in a rising real estate market. Expectations are so very low, he can never fail.
7
Omar Barghouti, the founder of BDS, has a plan, as do many BDS advocates.
Barghouti has said, “No Palestinian will ever accept a Jewish State in Palestine.”
So there it is, Mr. Friedman - a plan.
And after reading last week’s social media posts by Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib and after listening to their press conference, what I do know Now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is why Tlaib & Omar went to Congress. They went to Congress to stop US aid to Israel and convert Israel into a Muslim majority nation, through the absorption of millions of Palestinians.
Defund, Disarm, Destroy the Jewish Nation
5
It takes two to reach an agreement. Since 1948, the Palestinian Muslims were never willing to do so.
5
There may be a chance for peace when Israel stops treating Palestinians the way Europeans treated Native Americans.
4
It is difficult for me to see both a one-state solution and a Jewish state.
1
Israel's job is to save Israel, it isn't someone else's job. And Netanyahu is dead set on making his country pathetic.
It isn't that there aren't solutions, it is (as the article points out) no will for a solution. Apparently, Israel prefers killing people and enslaving them so they can extract revenge on someone for the horror of the Holocaust, than actually understanding that no one should come close to suffering those horrors.
Meanwhile in the United States, we're making concentration camps for children. So, sorry, the most potentially powerful nation on Earth prefers impotence and racism. Not exactly the place that a solution should be sought from.
2
"Then again, one should not come down too hard on the American and Israeli center lefts since the Palestinians also have not put any detailed two-state peace plan on the table"
Actually, they have: get off our land! Abide by international law! (If this comment is approved, you are reading this for the first time in a Thomas Friedman column.)
"The only hope I see is for the emergence of an Israeli leader ready to boldly make...."
Ha ha ha ha. Talk about living in a dream world.
"I am reading a smart and prescient new book related to all of this, titled 'Be Strong and of Good Courage: How Israel’s Most Important Leaders Shaped Its Destiny,' by veteran U.S. peace negotiator Dennis Ross..."
And where would a discussion on Palestine-Israel be without the "prescient" Dennis Ross -- whose 20-year prescience on the conflict, at the expense of the American taxpayer, resulted only in more Jewish settlers, more Jewish settlements.
Dennis Ross -- who's writing the book on him? Can't wait to see the blurbs.
3
Blue and White Party and Gantz are not center left (other than Netanyahu’s Israel has moved so far right - he has Jewish Power Party, Otzma Yehudit, Kahanists - disciples and admirers of Meir Kahane - racists as coalition partner - that almost everyone is center left by comparison). They share Netanyahu’s drive to one state Apartheid state without Netanyahu. Gantz, former Chief of Staff for IDF serving under and one time ally of Netanyahu, has made it abundantly clear that his only problem is Netanyahu. Gantz has made it clear that he would form a government with Likud as long as Netanyahu is gone. It’s a kinder and gentler packaging - Gantz looks the part (but seems to be low energy) of the same Netanyahu end goal.
There is one glaring omission in the Friedman oped: He mentions the 105,000 Jews living "deep in the West Bank" but fails to mention the hundreds of thousands of Arabs living in Israel. Do they not enter into the equation?
5
What else would you expect from this farcical fraudulent administration? Our mad king and his court jester son-in-law will never broker anything remotely resembling peace to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It’s like that old saying — getting blood from a stone.
1
Two state solution is dead. Let's have one state where Palestinians are citizens of Israel with equal rights of Jews. There are no other alternatives.
3
Does Friedman actually believe that there would be a difference between a coordinated or uncoordinated unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank? Now he is being naive.
1
It is certain the Palestinians will never get anywhere by throwing rocks and starting fires in Israel.
I wonder why many stay at all with an unemployment rate of 70%, rampant corruption, and that dictator Abbas who is in his 14th year of a 4 year term.
6
the palestinians have very little to lose, and are very secure about their identity - and most importantly, are extremely patient...
israelis would be better advised to prepare for the showdown between the haredim and the tel aviv nightlife crowd - a conflict which will provide much work for the journo crowd in the years to come!
1
I used to believe in my youth that peace would come to Israel one day. I’ve heard that the Arabs and Arafat were the reason a deal could not be made. But what about Israel? Was there really any intention of real peace or merely stalling tactics to keep kicking the can down the road? Extremism by the Arabs? Yes of course. But when you lose all hope, often extremism is seen as the last hope. Extremism and fanaticism by the Jews? Yes of course. One of our religious nut jobs killed Rabin to prevent land being given for peace. And this nut job was made a hero. I’m older now and more cynical than ever about peace. With the fast growth of the Haredim in Israel, peace becomes less and less likely. Mr Friedman, please keep writing about peace to keep hope in this old man’s heart.
1
The Palestinians are in a no-win situation. It does not matter whose fault it is. No matter what happens, they lose. Ultimately, their only option is a kind of apartheid state. The Israelis are equally in a no-win situation. They have painted themselves into a corner where they have to support a right-wing government at home and a right-wing government in the US. That is an odd political place for pro-Israeli jews abroad, who are themselves minorities in all countries except Israel. Donald Trump essentially mocks the notion that American Jews are loyal to the US and its constitution: he offers them a Hobson's choice, vote for me or lose Israel. That is where things are.
4
A MODEST PROPOSAL
Two Problems:
1. If all the Palestinians between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean were given the vote, the land would lose its Jewish character. This threatens it as a permanently safe homeland for the Jewish people, and they need one. This cannot be.
2. If the Palestinians living there are not given the vote, Israel becomes a permanent human rights abuser, denying basic rights to millions of indigenous people. This cannot be.
One Fact: The US is a permanent friend of Israel
Solution: Yes...make Israel the 51st state, and have the US declare it a Jewish state!
Now it all works out fine:
1. The Palestinians have a vote and are not disenfranchised. But they can never outvote the other 360 million US citizens who also control their policies.
2. Israel will retain its Jewish character.
3. (freebie) The US will benefit from an expanded country with more impact.
Really this is just putting the current situation into black and white.
1
I hope Begin's Rhodesia fears don't come true. Otherwise, we Americans, as a decent, civilized people, will have to treat Israel the same way we treated Rhodesia and South Africa. And that will be a very sad day indeed.
2
I still have not heard any discussion of why the world should allow any land mass to be determined by a religion. The concept of a "Jewish state" to describe Palestine is a mystery to me.
2
As for Jews living in the West Bank, in a two state solution they should become citizens of Palestine. If they move back to Israel their previous homes should be given to Palestinian refugees. And yes, we should tie our billions in economic support to withdrawal of the Jewish West Bank settlements.
3
@Jerry Harris 80% of Israelis live on just 20% of the land within the Green Line while they colonize beyond their borders. In my vision, Israel launches a NASA-style program to develop housing, cities and infrastructure in the virtually empty Negev.
That's where West Bank settlers could relocate (it has plenty of biblical significance, all but ignored). The technology would be extremely lucrative, desired by every desert country in a time of climate change. Israel would make a fortune selling it on world markets. Win-win.
So long as there is widespread Evangelical and Baptist support in the US for the Israeli annexation of Palestine, there will be no peace in that region.
Sure, Israel behaves much like South Africa did during Apartheid and thus the impetus for BDS. But this is also as much about a religious entity that sits 5,000 miles out and demands that things be a certain way because of biblical underpinnings. Weakening the religious lobbies in the US is the only way we will see positive movement on both gun control and the Israel/Palestine issue.
5
"But let me not be too hard on the Democrats. . . ."
Well, sorry, was there a valid criticism of the Democrats even put forth by Friedman? Yes, the Democratic Party sticks to the goal of a two-state solution, but I don't think there are any illusions regarding Netanyahu.
Friedman clearly is for a two-state solution too, but he whips the Democrats with limp spaghetti. His slavish devotion to a middle-of-the-road "a pox on both their houses" fetish too often distracts from what would otherwise be a good argument. For once I wish he would skip that part.
1
BDS movement is not partner in any political solution its a demand movement to end settlements in Palestinian territory specifically in the west Bank which is recognized by the UN as Palestinian territory and stop blockade Gaza which is under it for more than 7 years and sever shortage of basics like medical care and spare parts for factories and electrical generators day by day Palestinian they live in poverty and oppression and racial segregation
2
Yes - even a 'farce' is the way to go for the art of politics in especially Israel / Palestine saga. Yet the blood wars so to speak is the only way out should a DNA engineering be had.
Keep the faith and all will be right with the world as a matter of fact and natural progressions for eternal peace.
1
No mention of Hamas taking UN aid to build missiles and tunnels, with the goal of slaughtering a bunch of school children in class. To be expected from Friedman.
3
After 70 years why are they still refugees? Many people who lost their homeland after WW2 resettled and went on with their life’s. Not so the Palestinians, they need constant welfare support from the rest of western countries. It’s getting tiresome constantly being barraged with this victim hood.
7
Thomas is wrong on two points.
The PA has never stated officially or any other way they would accept any Jewish settlement as part of a Jewish state East of the Jordan even the ones Thomas calls the "West Bank settlement block"
Not mentioned and therefore not understood is a lot that land inside the West Bank were owned by Jews prior to 1947 or was bought from the owner of record and therefore were not stolen.
I am not saying this land should be part of a Jewish state but that Jews should be allowed to live there just like non Jews live in Israel.
4
History bears witness that you could have written this column any time in the last 50 years, no? Peace agreements need willing partners and populaces.
Unless you know something about Kushner’s experience and expertise that has eluded the rest of us, there was never any reason to assume that he would produce a peace plan worth reading, much less implementing.
3
@David Eike. Did John Kerry or Hillary Clinton ever produce one? We all remember the Camp David Accord that produced nothing.
1
Money is a very moderating influence. We see with Kushner's conditional aid project that it is aid to the Palestinians that will bring peace.
I would prefer it, personally, if Israel does not pursue peace with Palestinians or with any Arab neighbors.
Only Americans seem to think that peace is possible - having never lived in the neighborhood that Israel lives.
I hope Israel plain annexes the West Bank, and then Gaza. I know people live there, but I just see rockets being fired all the time. In the least, it will end the dangerously misguided discussions about two-states.
Israel stands alone in knowing what "peace" in that region means. To those not from there, here is what it means.
Peace with Israel's neighbors means all Israelis have to disappear; and remove all traces that that they ever existed, and then burn everything they've built (if done in the order and time periods specified by their adversaries).
No sane people want to do this.
The same people advocating for peace in Israel and two-state solutions today, sitting in the comforts of air-conditioned indoors and pedicured outdoors in Western enclaves, will soon advocate for Sharia in Europe and the US. They are in favor of making peace who want to destroy all other civilizations, people, and religions.
It is time to recognize the advocates of both (peace and two-states) as well-meaning, well-intentioned, misguided people who are not worthy of being taken seriously, never mind as people who can shape US policy toward Israel or the Middle East.
4
The analogy that seems to get to the most accurate conception of the conflict is to liken it to the situation of American Indians being slowly unsettled from their native homelands. There, as with Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, one sees that only force and weapons make for a contest. A lot of people moan and groan about how the Indians had rights, but if they don't have weapons and a coordinated military power they will lose. It's a slow, painful to watch process: Israel just outguns the Palestinians and is piecemeal dismantling them and "their" lands.
The boycott idea is a peaceful one that allows for people to just throw up their hands. When things are too complicated and stagnant, just sitting down and not budging in an annoying way -- civil disobedience -- might just cause some rethinking to occur on the part of all parties.
Friedman's article is annoying because it seems biased against civil disobedience unless all details of a plan are worked out in advance. But I suggest Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi didn't have clear paths with partners, etc. but forged ahead anyway.
To me the central problem for Israel is that it wants to be Jewish state and a democracy and a well-respected, progressive country all at once. The real problem is really that it seems now, under Bibi, to aspire to be more like Iran than Indiana.
2
@theonanda. There’s nothing peaceful about it since the goal is the end of Israel
Freidman doesn't get it. This is a situation where Palestinians have been massacred. His tired bromides have been roundly rebuked by history. Since the Camp David Accords and the first Bush Administration the peace talks have been more about dividing Palestinians and arranging to make it easier for the Israelis to impose their occupation. The most recent state is imposed by AIPACs domination of the US Congress. Trump and Sheldon Adelson are the brain trust behind totally acquiescing to every Israeli whim. As Freidman notes, Netanyahu hopes to avoid prosecution by voiding the law he broke. Trump is very popular with right wing Israelis. Hence the closeness between Trump and Netanyahu. Even AIPAC can't accept this kind of deal. This is unsettling to see the absolute impunity in which settlers behave toward Palestinians. Now Israel is by far the most powerful state in the Middle East. And they still play the game of Israel against everybody else. Israel and Saudi Arabia are working together in Yemen, Iran and Syria. The US has worked with this unholy alliance.
5
@c harris. Massacred? Aren’t they the ones lobbing rockets?
This is an interesting summary of the tactical game but a sort of ancillary question leaps to my mind.
This writer states that President Trump supports Netanyahu in order to shore up Jewish votes in Florida. He states that American Jewish lobbying organizations have stymied any move in congress that can be seen as critical of Israel. When you think about it, this is exactly the dynamic that Ihan Omar identified, that for many American Jews US interests play second fiddle when it comes to our policy toward Israel. Why is it that Friedman appears to take this preference for granted, but Omar is pilloried for criticizing it? Especially when, in my view, she has a great point- US policy toward Israel has been heavily influenced by American Jewish organizations that (properly) put Israel's interests first. It has to be, in part, because she's an easy target- a fiery young Muslim woman- criticizing an entrenched special interest.
I tend to disagree with them, but the simple fact of the matter is that American Jews have every right to prioritize support for Israel, especially given the last 1000 years of history. I understand how Omar's words appear to shade the "Protocols..."
But rather than shutting her down as anti-semitic (and leaning heavily on Islamophobia) we should emphasize everyone's American right to their own political vews. Then let's try to persuade each other, and, heaven forfend, even compromise!
2
For a Thomas Friedman column this is quite good. His most pronounced "magical thinking" is in the statement: "...but it’s vague on whether that is just the West Bank and East Jerusalem or all of Israel." Actually it's quite clear that they mean all of Israel, but they are smart enough not to say it. That would make it more difficult for folks like Friedman to avoid seeing the obvious.
It is also the reason why Israeli governments have accepted the settlement process. Israel does not have "all the cards" as some comments claim, and recognizes that the only solution many Palestinians will accept is the end of the state of Israel. The Palestinians have the entire Muslim world behind them, along with all of the European left, the anti-Semitic portion of the European right, and most of the American left. Israel can see that its only real card is making facts on the ground that will generate a state that is geographically more viable than the current 9 mile wide strip connecting its northern and southern regions.
3
Here is a plan that you didn’t mention, Tom.
Cut them loose. Both. Israelis and Palestinians.
Why is Israel and Palestine America’s problem? Neither side seems particularly interested in peace, and we certainly haven’t been an honest broker since Carter.
So why are we involved?
Because Israel is a Democracy? Sure, like Alabama circa 1950.
Because Israel is our ally? Ok, what does Israel do for us? Specifics. We throw ourselves in front of every bullet, diplomatic or otherwise, fired at them, yet I don’t recall anything Israel has done for us. I do recall Israel interfering in American elections, just like Russia, except I don’t recall Putin addressing a joint session of Congress to attack a sitting President during an election campaign.
Because Israel has a right to exist? Like Tibet and Kurdistan?
Why are we paying Israel’s bills? We give Israel, a rich country, 3 billion a year and for what? To find their universal healthcare system? We could use that money here, but, to be fair, it would probably just go to fund pizza parties at the Pentagon.
Really, this amount of angst over an international irrelevance, a country with less than 10 million people?
We have Americans who need help here at home.
The intellectual capital and money wasted on this intractable conflict is colossal. Let’s stop, and of they ASK for our help, then we can consider it.
3
I see your farce, Mr. Friedman, and add to it, some historical perspective. There have been plans for as long as there has been a "Palestine" - when there were Jewish Palestinians, Muslim Palestinians, Christian Palestinians, and Druze Palestinians, among others, living together therein...
In the (relatively) Modern Era, the first "Palestinian" state created was an Arab/Muslim one called Transjordan in the early 1920s. Thereafter a plan to create two additional "Palestinian" states (one for Jews and one for Arab/Muslims) was proposed in 1947 but firmly rejected by the latter. The Oslo Accords created an additional "Palestinian" state (for Arab/Muslims) on the Gaza Strip, leaving the West Bank as yet another potential "Palestinian" state - with a mandated "right of return" for all displaced Arab/Muslim Palestinians.
Yet through it all, there's been no mention of a "right of return" for Jews in places from which they've been expelled: Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria,Tunisia, Turkey, etc. Just blamestorming - some valid, but most, one-sided.
1
While he doesn't use the word—it's basically something between a lie, a mistake, a misunderstanding, and a mirage.
He calls it a farce.
Welcome to the Middle East.
2
Excellent attempt by Mr. Friedman to capture the present situation. However, NYT could make a true contribution to the complete answering of the question "How did the Palestinian - Israeli peace process become a farce?" by inviting somebody like Ms. Hanan Ashrawi to answer that question in some detail. I say this because I don't think Mr. Friedman discusses the reasons for the decay - he brilliantly describes the decay. In fact, itwould be highly interesting to your readership if you could arrange to publish a conversation between Dennis Ross and Hanan Ashrawi on this truly insightful question.
1
I am not sure why Kushner's plan for the Palestinians is still a mystery to anyone at this point. In April, The Times of Israel has published the plan to create a Palestinian state in the Sinai attached to Gaza in order to open the way for full Israeli annexation of the West Bank. There has been some movement on the Egyptian side indicating Sisi's willingness to go along with it.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-envoy-denies-reports-peace-plan-includes-giving-palestinians-part-of-sinai/
In the age of geriatric strongman rule, I don't see any international will to stop this terrible tragedy from happening, yet the real fault was allowing this conflict to fester for 70 years without a just settlement to address Palestinian statelessness. We can't blame the hawks alone for this cruelty because the seeds were sown by all the "negotiations" that preceded in which the US took sides and kowtowed to Israeli settler colonialism's the worst tendencies.
4
I’m curious about the future monetary gain for the kushner/trump dynasties if such a plan truly materialized.
2
I don’t understand the reason why everyone seems to ignore
obvious realities: First, the West Bank and Gaza are both controlled by different Palestinian governments. i.e. they already have 2 “countries”. Second, and perhaps more profound, Neighboring Jordan (of which the West Bank was a part until the 70’s), is more than 60% palestinian. In other words, the notion that the Palestinians are entitled to their own country, is undermined by the fact that they already have one in Jordan, and 2 more they control in Gaza and the West Bank.
Why not simply reincorporate parts of the West Bank bank back into Jordan, along with Gaza.
Parenthetically, other than Israel, japan, and maybe the Koreas, there are few if any countries that are comprised of a single “nationality”, further buttressing the argument that incorporation into Jordan is the obvious solution.
3
@Nmb
Of course, since Jordan occupies 80% of the territory formerly referred to as ‘Palestine’, it is the de facto Arab Palestinian state.
However, Jordan’s government is ruled by Hashemite Arabs. And relinquishing power to Arabs identifying as Palestinian is not on their agenda. Recall Black September? The son of King Hussein has not forgotten.
3
Right. Let’s pretend PA made full peace with Israel. What would happen next time Israel has to stop Hamas rockets from firing on its people? So much easier to point finger at Israel and Netanyahu than the full reality.
3
Right now it seems the only predictions that make sense are those that accept that both sides will continue down today's path as long as possible. External events like a nuclear Iran or war with Iran may then play a determinative role. What happens when there are a million or more Jewish settlers in the West Bank? Israel as a whole has moved to the right and will likely continue to do so. Will their own nationalism erode their democratic institutions completely? Then becoming exactly what they rebelled against to create the country? How will the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran play out and effect the Israel/Palestine conflict? These are not uplifting scenarios.
1
Netanyahu and Trump are trying to destroy the state of Israel. If the West Bank is annexed, the Arab population will eventually exceed the Jewish population. There will be calls for full citizenship of the Arab occupants just like in South Africa. The result will be an Arab dominated state and the loss of our Jewish homeland.
2
I can barely stand to read the stale de-contextualized nonsense of the right wing Israelis, on top of the Times - Friedman, and other Times clearly biased columnist and reporters.
How many more years, more likely decades do the Palestinians have to wait for the undeniable facts to be the shared facts for any and all to see?
It is no exaggeration to state emphatically that those in power who control pretty much everything have far to go before they acknowledge truth, actual facts. Outside of Israel and the US there is world wide condemnation of Israel including several UN votes. Are readers aware of Times reporters and columnist family relations connections to Israel's armed forces?
In view of the factual history informed intelligence cannot avoid seeing that rightwing Israelis never have had any intention of removing their boot from the Palestinians neck, and perhaps never will.
The mistake Palestinians have and are making is their not choosing a non violent strategy.
It is past time Friedman surrender the meaningless spaghetti logic word salad ersatz compassion and actually write something helpful because the rest of the world are using his misdirection to line the bird cage floor. All I see is weak rationalization attempting to ease the guilt so many try to sidestep year after year. BDS and stopping travel is righteous and the only pressure regular citizens have.
4
OK, Tom, I'm going to say something that will get me labeled as an "Anti-Semite", so here goes:
Israel has an outsized influence on our foreign policy to such an extent, that we can't be an objective arbiter of the Israeli-Palestinian "peace" process.
OK, interweb commentors, start lobbing those hate bombs!
But, really, think about it: If people - inlcuding our elected officials - can label me, or anyone else for that matter, as an "anti-semite" for simply criticizing Israel, then the pro-Israel lobby has too much influence in our country's affairs. Just sayin'...
3
Tragically for the Palestinians, their leadership -- even after 70 plus years -- has failed to learn the very first lesson of survival in their ongoing war with Israel, which is … when you set fires, hurl stones, stab innocents, dig tunnels, shoot rockets, threaten to annihilate Jews and spread vicious anti-Semitic propaganda around the world about them, they will respond accordingly.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/israeli-soldier-is-stabbed-to-death-prompting-manhunt-11565271046
7
A good analysis until Friedman gets to his conclusion that "one state for two people [would be] a recipe for permanent strife." Friedman is caught up in his own magical thinking. The reality is that one state already exists -- the government of Israel effectively controls the state of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza with limited rights of control and governance delegated to the inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza as and when the government of Israel deems fit. The only equitable outcome and the only practical one is a single state that recognizes the human rights, the civil rights, and the historical and ancestral connections of all its inhabitants to the land. Such an outcome will require a major shift in thinking on the part of many parties but is not impossible. This is what all concerned parties should be urging the people of Israel/Palestine towards. It would not be a recipe for "permanent strife" but instead a recipe for permanent peace.
1
Actually it only requires Israel to do a paradigm shift-West into the sea. Others have seen the plan as a road to Israel’s destruction.
2
The imperative for Israel and the Palestinians to make peace seems overwhelming to me. I do not think Israelis should blindly accept that Israel will be around in 50, 70 or 100 years from now. To those who scoff at such a nation, bear in mind that not only countries have come and gone - entire empires have disappeared (Roman, Byzantine, Inca, and in modern times the Soviet Union. On the other hand Palestinians must surely know that over the eons not all groups who desired a state of their own got one (currently, the Kurds provide a good example) and that they too may never get one absent a willingness to compromise. The problem with the middle east is not, as is often said, that "the situation is intractable." Rather, it is the people who are intractable. It is true that years Arafat ago rejected an offer that Clinton was convinced he would accept, as it gave him almost everything he wanted, but the parties must deal with the situation as it is now. I find the intansigence on both sides to be mind boggling.
4
An important difficulty with retracting settlement from outside the West Bank Settlement Plots is that there are probably no incentives that settlers would find acceptable. While it may be possible to find land elsewhere, there is nothing that can substitute for land which the settlers believe was promised to them by God.
1
Doesn’t religion just complicate everything?
A sad situation exists no doubt. The peace process has little hope to become meaningful in the current environment.
Perspective: The rise in Netanyahu and right wing politics in Israel has grown to formidable strength in response to Arafat's suicide bombings, Hamas in Gaza, and complete rejection of acceptance of a Jewish state of Israel by the Palestinians.
A vicious circle that has neutered the moderates.
In essence, the hopelessness of the peace process because of the failure of Palestinian leadership (whose individuals have become rich on international funding in support and their fear of personal assassination).
4
It seems to me that there's far too much hatred on both sides for there to be much hope for a final settlement without someone from the U.S. taking a strong courageous, definitive lead on two-state peace talks. And the Palestinians need a leader who can speak for all of them; and it cannot be on from a terrorist organization such as Hamas.
4
If Israel wants to bury the 2-state solution, Friedman grabs a shovel.
If Israel wants to have West Bank settlements considered permanent, Friedman complies with statements like "West Bank settlement blocks, where another 300,000 Jewish settlers live but would remain in any peace deal."
If Israel wants to demonize Iran, Friedman characterizes Iran's nuclear program as a nuclear weapons program, as if it were fact.
If Israel wants the world distracted from international law, Friedman meticulously never mentions it and perpetuates the idea that a solution can only come by negotiation between the two parties.
.... all of this couched in clever writings that on the surface criticize Netanyahu or the Israeli right wing.
6
It is too bad that Friedman (and most others who talk about this issue) completely fail to mention the over 700,000 Jews who left or were forced out of the surrounding Arab countries when Israel was formed in 1948 and who mostly went to Israel. This is about the same number of "palestinians" who left Israel to fight against the formation of Israel. Those "palestinians" seeking a "right of return" are, for the most part, the decendants of those who left, hoping that their Arab neighbors would be successful in driving Israel into the sea. It has also been suggested that Jordan was intended to be the new "palestinian" state, and as of today, it is the only country in that region which has ever -- ever -- permitted a "palestinian" to become a citizen...Not Saudi Arabia, Not Egypt, Not Iran, Not Iraq, etc etc. Sadly, these people are simply pawns in the political battle against Israel.
4
Wait, what? The 300,000 illegal settlement blocks get to stay if there's an all-new (for Israel) two-state "solution?" Who said so? International law does not. And re the Gaza "withdrawal." Really? The people are trapped by land, air, and sea. Israel even shoots fishermen who fish in their own Palestinian waters. The UN says Gaza is soon to be uninhabitable, not because Palestinians are incapable of managing their affairs or infrastructure, but because they cannot leave while being constantly bombarded, their infrastructure destroyed regularly, their imports, even such things as macaroni, limited by Israel, their potential exports denied exit by Israel. Why? There is gas off the Gaza coast. Why does Israel want all of the West Bank? As well as for the land, they want control of the aquifers which for centuries have supplied Arab Muslim and Christian farms and flourishing orchards. In order to have complete control, Israel needs to remove by oppression as many of those pesky indigenous peoples are possible. All this is done using US tax payers' dollars to the tune of approximately $10 million per day. Mr. Friedman, while some who support BDS may indeed boycott the idea of a Jewish state as an example of one that's ethnically biased and therefore not democratic, many more support BDS against the illegal settlements that have by now made the two-state "solution" basically impossible.
3
Yes,there are two different people living in the same place. Either they work together or they argue with each other. Neither one is going to vanish. I know this is simplistic but..................
2
Ariel Sharon also stated that the unofficial Israeli policy towards the West Bank was "delay, delay, delay". That policy still holds firm today. Israel has taken over vast chunks of the West Bank and it continues to expand its footprint- daily.
Eventually a decision may come- but its got to get a lot worse before that may happen.
3
Palestinians who demand the right to return to where their ancestors lived (and live there in peace) must also demand the right of middle eastern Jews to return to where their ancestors lived, and live there in peace.
Only when both of these rights exist and are realistic will a durable peace exist in the area. But this would require a sea change in attitudes throughout the area, a change that is unthinkable right now.
5
On a much larger scale, the Israeli-Palestinian wars seem like a replay of Edward Gibbons chapters in the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire concerning the fall of Constantinople. Christendom held it for eons but Islam wanted it for itself. It prosecuted a war over centuries to pull it off. And in May 1453 it did. To hear Gibbons tell the story, Constantinople was doomed from the get-go. Israel is in a very similar mess. The only question as I see the matter is how long it can hold out. Decades? Probably not.
1
Friedman's call for the emergence of a bold Israeli leader ignores the example of Yitzhak Rabin, who signed the Oslo peace accords when he was prime minister in the mid-1990s. Unfortunately, he paid for it with his life. I fear that a similar fate threatens any Israeli leader who flouts the desires of the radical Israeli right.
4
It's interesting but not surprising that you would add the BDS movement to the mix as a distraction. The BDS movement is no different from the Anti-apartheid movement that started in the 70s and 80s to mobilize support for sanctions and boycotts against the racist South African government. The anti-apartheid movement was not a political party. It did not define what an end-point should look as this would be the result of the negotiations between the ANC and the apartheid government. The purpose of the anti-apartheid movement was to put pressure on the apartheid government to release Mandela and other ANC leaders and then negotiate with them. Similarly, the BDS movement has not right to define what the state of Israel and the state of Palestine should look like. That is for the negotiating partners.
But you are right. The 2-state solution has been a farce for decades. As Israeli politicians have constantly said that they 'create facts on the ground' while supposedly looking for negotiating partners. And the United States under every president has willingly participated in this farce as has the media. We are where we are because there was no intent by either the Israelis or the Americans to be anywhere else.
6
Well Friedman, how about trying to steadily reduce our yearly subsidy to Israel, currently about $5 bil and see what that might spur? That, coupled with reducing the annual subsidy to oil, hard to calculate but let’s say $20 bil not to mention the cost of maintaining the military in that area, should reduce our interest in helping continuing this kabuki show. And to call Israel a democracy instead of a theocracy is ridiculous.
4
Mr. Friedman neglects to mention what happened when Yitzak Rabin unilaterally withdrew Israel from Gaza, even forcefully removing Israeli settlers. Did the Palestinians take over the thriving economy and put the enormous contributions from outside countries to work for their new Palestinian citizens? NO! They destroyed the economy, took the funds designtated for economic develpoment and built a massive network of uinderground tunnels, smuggled in tons of rockets and have rained down terror on Israel ever since, meanwhile impoverishing their own citizens. And now he is suggseting that Netanyahu or his eventual successor do the same with the West Bank? Poppycock.
3
Bill Clinton allowed massive and illegal Israeli expansion in the West Bank under his watch, unlike Bush and James Baker, who held the line. But now that Israel is no longer a "bipartisan" issue, perhaps the Democrats will actually hold Israelis accountable. Unfortunately, this will probably not occur under Nancy Pelosi, but within the decade Israel will face a stern backlash from the American liberal party.
2
There are no proposal for a two state solution simply because of the continuous boycott of every solution by the Israeli governments and the continuous illegal settlements in Palestinian territories. Is that simple and so tragic.
4
I've travelled to Israel...many times....and the West Bank. My conclusions: THE PA...and Hamas...trade on being victims, and as such have done little to create a viable economy and jobs for their citizens. So their economy is stuck in the. 50's. Their only focus is to eliminate Israel. Israel on the other hand has the most viable, tech savvy economy in the ME, and likely in the world...per capita. The PA formula has not worked and its people are suffering. Israel, mainly for security reasons is complicit in not helping the Palestinian economy. The solution...Israeli and the US should do all it can to support the nascent tech (mainly IT) community on the West Bank. Technologists for the most part are interested in developing technology, earning a decent living and being able to support their families...the goal of people world-wide. For readers who are interested...google Rawabi Tech Hub...a new city focused on a new life for Palestinians...and based mainly on supporting the growth of new businesses. With a thriving, non-threatening new economy, Palestinians will finally have the strength to negotiate with their Israeli counterparts. Both the Israeli and US tech community are currently working very constructively with the Palestinian IT sector. I have very little hope that the politicians will resolve the impasse. It has not worked for 70+ years...why expect a change in the next few.
5
I'm guessing Israel has no intention of ever backing off on settlement building since there isn't a politician in this world who isn't in the back pocket of real estate developers. Settlements are where the money is!
1
Mr. Friedman's tacit acceptance of the "facts on the ground" is very disturbing. Would he be so accepting if someone camped out on his property and refused to move?
Mr. Friedman, I think in your case you'd have the law intervene. Why not in the case of the Palestinians?
4
Here is why the Arab-Israeli Palestine conflict will never be settled:
1. The world depends on Arab oil.
2. Arabs, Persians, and pretty much all Muslims want all Jews out of the middle east, including of course historic Palestine, now known as Israel.
3. Israelis have no intention of giving in to suicide.
4. In addition, there is a fundamental contradiction of the State of Israel: it cannot be both a Jewish state and a state with full religious and democratic freedoms.
There is no likelihood that any of these conditions will change in the near future, say for the next 50 years. The only changes will be fluctuations in the levels of violence, and that's what the goal should be: simply to minimize violence.
3
Only flaw is that people all have religious freedom in Israel and the WB&G and voting rights and civil rights within Israel proper.
1
From Friedman:
BDS specifically calls for a boycott of Israel until it stops “its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands”
From Wikipedia:
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (also known as BDS) is a Palestinian-led campaign promoting various forms of boycott against Israel until it meets what the campaign describes as Israel's obligations under international law, defined as withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation barrier in the West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and "respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties".
3
The preposterous illusion that the Palestinians must somehow be a "partner" for peace is not a solely owned fantasy of Prime Minister Netanyahu. It is, in fact, a delusion cooked up in the minds of Israelis and Americans who seem to think that a "partner" can be conjured from Israeli's deliberate destruction of the integrity of the Palestinian people--for example, the calculated periodic provocation and assassinations of their younger leadership in Gaza, what Israeli Generals call "mowing the grass"--and the contemptible acquiescence of the U.S. media in this violent, barbaric farce.
And I haven't even mentioned the deliberate effort of Israel to carve up the Palestinians into the people of the West Bank and the Gazans. Let's face facts. Mr. Netanyahu speaks the truth when he says that Israel is simply not going to permit the establishment of anything like a serious Palestinian government. That's the underlying fact in every Israeli government since the so-called "Oslo Accords"--with the big exception of the Rabin government that made those accords, and Israel's religious fanatics saw to Prime Minister Rabin's murder. Mr. Netanyahu was the beneficiary of that murder, and the rest, as they say, is history.
3
For the Palestinians, for the last seventy years, the situation has become a two profit centers which they are not about to give up. Worse, the more the world want peace, so do the Palestinian demands. For the Israelis, it's an assertion that Israel belongs to the Israelis .. if not because God gave it to them, but because they bought the land from the Ottoman landlords and had papers to show for .. and that's how the UN partitioned the land .. by the paper work in their hands. As a matter of fact, the Palestinians never ever existed as a state .. the closest to it is Jordan .. and they should be encouraged to join their brothers.
The preposterous illusion that the Palestinians must somehow be a "partner" for peace is not a solely owned fantasy of Prime Minister Netanyahu. It is, in fact, a delusion cooked up in the minds of Israelis and Americans who seem to think that a "partner" can be conjured from Israeli's deliberate destruction of the integrity of the Palestinian people--for example, the calculated periodic provocation and assassinations of their younger leadership in Gaza, what Israeli Generals call "mowing the grass"--and the contemptible acquiescence of the U.S. media in this violent, barbaric farce.
And I haven't even mentioned the deliberate effort of Israel to carve up the Palestinians into the people of the West Bank and the Gazans. Let's face facts. Mr. Netanyahu speaks the truth when he says that Israel is simply not going to permit the establishment of anything like a serious Palestinian government. That's the underlying fact in every Israeli government since the so-called "Oslo Accords"--with the big exception of the Rabin government that made those accords, and Israel's religious fanatics saw to Prime Minister Rabin's murder. Mr. Netanyahu was the beneficiary of that murder, and the rest, as they say, is history.
@David A. Lee. Yes, Palestinians have no agency.
1
Dear Mr Friedman, I love it - I guess - when you include everybody in: 'We have peace plans with no partners and movements with no peace plans'... What we mainly have, here in Israel, is real life. A friend who manufactures beautiful shoes in Israel told me an amazing story today: she just moved her entire manufacture to a very professional shoe workshop in Hebron belonging to a man named Fahdi. When Fahdi came to Tel Aviv to discuss business with her, her son, who was just released from the army, dropped by. He and Fahdi were shocked to see each other; when the son was stationed in Hebron, he was ordered to escort Fahdi from his house and interrogate him. My friend was upset, but Fahdi said: It's alright, he was doing his job, and he did it fairly and well. And then they continued their business. All this happened while you, Mr. Friedman, read books about Israel. I wish you all the best.
5
As I recall Mr. Begin always called
West bank as Judea-Samara(bible
name) which supposedly prophet
Joshua had seized by the blessing of
Yehwe. He coveted the whole of
West bank. No Israel's leaders has
offered to relinquish this land. Christian
evangelists .have made doubly difficult
awaiting the second coming. One state
solution is eminent unless palestinians
agree to Bantunistan which Mr. Clinton
and Ehud Barak( friends of Jeffrey Epstein) offered.
1
Friedman paints a great picture of the disappointing current state of the Oslo-based peace process and global diplomatic charade, but his “solution” is more or less what is already happening on the ground: Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank with Palestinians responsible for their own day-to-day affairs.
That’s honestly the best and most realistic solution. Israeli businesses in the West Bank employ over 30,000 local Palestinians, paying double the wages they’d earn otherwise.
What a boon it would be for the Palestinians if even more Israeli companies operated in the West Bank. What a missed opportunity for the Gazans who spitefully destroyed millions of dollars of agricultural infrastructure left behind by expelled Israelis in 2005.
Peace will come through mutual prosperity, but it has to grow organically, not be mandated by international diplomatic group-think.
80
@JH Will the Palestinians have the right to open business in Israel, also, according to your plan?
So....
if Britain continued its invasion in America to have sovereignty on American land and Americans being responsible for their day to day lives while British companies employed millions of Americans, would you be fine with that?
I do not think so. :-)
32
@JH
Hi
I thought that the Gazans had no access to the markets in Europe and middle east (Israel) who formerly bought all the produce amd flowers produced in Gaza. I thought a lack of transportation to markets, rather than mismanagement or radical politics was the cause of this failure. I don't know which of these two narratives to believe, or perhaps some other?
10
@JH
so the Palestinians should become a working class for their Israeli bosses? How about supporting Palestinian-owned businesses so they can control their own destiny? what about the fact that Palestinians do not have the right to freedom of travel within the West Bank and into Israel proper? what about voting rights?
21
The details of Trump’s Middle East peace plan have just been leaked. Basically, the Palestinians will be given their own land in the West Bank, but then agree to immediately sell it to the US. Trump’s thinking is that if we can’t have Greenland, at least we’ll get land that’s bordered by a Green Line
2
The idea that the problem is that the Palestinians don’t want to make peace is absurd. What they don’t want to do is surrender. This may be foolish on their part—I certainly think so— but the Israeli talking point is simply an excuse for gradually extinguishing the Palestinian state. Peace will be achieved only when the Palestinians give up altogether on their hopes for autonomy over all of Palestine, but the Israelis must realize that they have to provide some kind of honorable way for the Palestinians to do this.
61
@JMcF Unfortunately, the Palestinians define 'Palestine' as 'from the river to the sea.' Abbas has even gone so far as to declare, "In the future state of Palestine there will be no Jews." So long as they maintain this atitude there will be no 'Palestine' and there will be no peace.
28
How are you specifically defining, "...all of Palestine?"
3
@JMcF They need to surrender because not surrendering hasn't achieved anything. You talk about honor. Explain how paying the families of terrorists and continue to pay lip service to a historically false narrative as the Palestinians have done for 100 years has anything to do with honor. The Palestinian cause has accomplished nothing except the perpetuation of violence while enriching the cronies of the Palestinian authority. It's time to call the Palestinian national movement what it really is; an abject failure run by sore losers who have no interest or any plans to achieve anything for the Palestinian people.
21
Psuedo-democratic theocracies are doomed to fail. Friedman makes that clear.
1
There can’t be a 2 state solution when there are three governments, especially when one openly states its commitment to a second holocaust and is considered the tip of Iran’s spear. There won’t be peace with the Palestinians until the Palestinians have peace with themselves.
5
Bibi is not getting much the right wing settler vote that will go largely to Shaked. She is the future. Gantz is mystery and he has a slim chance if likud dumps Bibi and goes with him as will Lieberman. No solution to this conflict at present but seems to me both sides seem resigned to one state as best alternative
I have no dog or god in this fight as an American and agnostic, but I know these things to be true:
1- No outside government or person will be able to successfully negotiate or impose a peace plan acceptable to all parties.
2- The current conduct of the elected Israeli government headed by Likud is, as you state, essentially a slow-motion annexation of the occupied west bank and is not in anyone's best interest. That can only be cured by the citizens of Israel at the polls.
3- The current quasi-government that purportedly represents the Palestinians does not appear to be legitimate by any reasonable standard. That can only be cured by the Palestinian citizens.
4- The United States has no place supporting the current policy of either group as it does not move toward a stable, just and democratic solution for all parties.
5- The extremist evangelicals who support the Israeli state for reasons that have nothing to do with the security of the nation or the citizens are not the friends of either.
1
Aware of the conditions in the West Bank, where freedom of movement and access to water are reserved for Israeli "settlers"? Begin's Rhodesia has already been realized.
1
Why is it so hard for anyone to comprehend that an independent Palestine is the last thing the Palestinians want?
6
Trump is a real estate developer who makes quasi-legal deals.
Kushner is a real estate developer who makes quasi-legal deals.
Netanyahu is illegally developing real estate in the West Bank.
MBS (alias "the butcher") provides millions and millions of dollars to support the Trump conglomerate and will finance the Kushner-Netanyahu attempt to buy-out Palestinian legal and human rights.
Why are we even listening to these people?
3
I have a plan for Israel and Palestine. It is called the Dance of Death, which is what the Palestinians and Israelis have been doing since 2000 and will likely continue for the next few hundred years.
1
Thanks, Mr. Friedman, for this characteristically incisive and constructive piece. One complaint: You appear to unwittingly exemplify magical thinking and reality denial in describing "the rights of the Jews to a state in their historical homeland" as an ironclad truth that the BDS crowd stubbornly denies. But surely you know that such a "right" is an invention of modern ethnic nationalism, in its Zionist variety. So is the idea that "Jews" have a special claim on that particular land as their private "historical homeland" (re-read the Book of Joshua to find out how it supposedly became that, namely by conquest and ethnic cleansing), and even the idea of "Jews" as a politically salient category. If such a right exists, do you recognize the "right" of Assyrians to a state in their "historical homeland"? What about Kurds? Berbers? Catalans? Basques? Turks (in their "historical homeland" of Inner Asia)? Dare I add... Palestinians? As you well know, such "rights," and the peoples to which they are attached, are only as real as the power of partisan ideologues to invent them and militaries to attack their enemies. Does it make the world better for you to act as one such ideologue?
5
Jews were and had been in Palestine before nationhood. As you know, there was no country, Palestine. Then, a tiny, tiny strip of land was given to the Jews. The goal wasn’t to argue rights or borders, it was to erase Jews based in unbridled antisemitism and hangover influence from the Arab-Nazi alliance. So keep arguing the religious homeland issue, which you claim doesn’t justify a modern homeland. But it should wipe one out?
3
@Alberto Abrizzi Of course I make no claims that religious/ethnic nationalist claims would *actually* justify wiping out any state or people. The point is that the mythical "right" of any "nation" to a "homeland" is invented in ideology (the kind Friedman propagates here) and defended by violence. That includes U.S. nationalist rhetoric, like Israel's or anyone else's. Educated people should be prepared to acknowledge this, even if they think that particular national myths are, in the end, beneficial (as some may be). By the way, no "strip of land was given to the Jews," least of all in an effort "to erase Jews." The early Jewish Zionists (Yishuv) variously purchased, developed, and then annexed the lands that would be declared Israel in 1948. And the notion of an "Arab-Nazi alliance" is a gross generalization at best.
1
In the new pro-Israel narrative, Gaza is no longer even mentioned when the conflict is discussed, as though it's no longer connected. The truth is Gaza is more closely connected to Israel than it has ever been. Yes, Israel withdrew the prison guards to the periphery of the camp. That doesn't mean it's not a prison camp. The way you know that is Israel controls everything thing and everyone that goes in or out, including most of the electricity and drinking water. What and how much a Gazan child eats, whether and what kind of medicine she receives and whether she will ever see her relatives in the West Bank or the Al Aqsa mosque are up to an Israeli. After having shot 6000 mostly unarmed people inside the camp over the past year with high-power rifles, Israel controls life and death as well.
1
Friedman is wrong about progressives. They do have a plan. It's not an all-encompassing final solution, because it would be stupid to start with the magical-thinking dream. Their plan is this: Until Israel ceases to use race and ethnicity as a determinant of rights and liberties, which is identical to apartheid, there can be no negotiating. That is the essential first step: Israel must recognize Palestinians as something other than a subjugated people that they can treat in any way they wish. Until Israel does that, there can be no negotiations nor solutions. It is an absolutely right and just proposition to cut all support and boycott Israel, just like South Africa, until it complies.
2
@Brian - and plans that put a pre-requisite demand on just one side are plans that don't start.
Why don't you add a second "essential first step" and demand that Hamas repudiate their view that Israel has no right to exist at all?
Wouldn't that be progress? Otherwise, here's the negotiation back-and-forth your plan produces. Groups are I for Israel, P for Palestinian Authority, H for Hamas.
I: We'll improve treatment of Palestinians
P: Thank you, what's next
H: Die, I.
Where would you see that progressive outcome getting to next?
1
excuse me, mr friedman. Sharon unilaterally withdrew from Gaza and it became a Hamas wasteland. this is the proof Israelis need to see that the Palestinians are not serious about peace. so it will be one country with strife. so be it.
8
If the B.D.S. movement is dead in the water, why does the Israeli goverment keep trying to kill it again?
What I've observed has been a dogged Israeli refusal to concede any legitimacy to Palestinians. In contradiction of history, Israelis pretend that there was no Palestine at the time of Israel's creation.
That's some serious magical realism.
2
Here we go again, more sturm und drang from Mr. Friedman which shows how much more we Americans are concerned about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than the Israelis and Palestinians themselves.
I'm reading the comments on this story, and most seem to depict the Palestinians as helpless victims, unable to determine their own destiny, all prone to nihilistic violence should their demands not be met.
Do you people realize how one-dimensional (bordering on racist) is your view of an entire group of people?
It reminds me of the chicken littles who warned that the Arab world would explode in an apoplectic upheaval of violence and rage once the US announced its decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem. Instead, there was barely a whimper.
Here's a news flash: the Palestinian Arabs are as diverse a community as Americans, Israelis, or another other people. They send their kids to school every day, they have jobs, they buy groceries. Their demands for statehood are mythical, and I can only wonder why the media does not report that fact.
Meantime, the Palestinian "leadership" is a group of cronies who receive money from the Saudis and enjoy a life of privilege in various spots in Europe, the Levant and the USA. They do not / not represent the interests of those who live in the West Bank.
Only when the Palestinians agree to unconditional negotiations with Israel will we see any light at the end of the tunnel.
5
@Frank J Haydn
A great quote about this conflict is that both sides do indeed see the light at the end of the tunnel, what is lacking is the tunnel.
Sometimes the best plan is no plan and the status quo, however flawed, better than change for the sake of change. Until there is a change by the Palestinians vis a vis their tolerance of Jews in the Middle East nothing will or should change.
9
Sorry Tom, but it's always been a farce. Name the last time an Israeli government did anything that even resembled negotiating in good faith with whoever was representing Palestinian interests. I'll wait right here for an answer. Forever.
2
"The only option left will be one state for two people, a recipe for permanent strife." Really??? Some years ago when I was working on a MLK day celebration, it came to me that of Dr. King was alive today he would be in Israel/Palestine putting his body on the line for peace, for a one state solution. Then I thought "who better to teach peace then black American civil rights leaders?" Who better to broker a peace between grandparent and grandchild religions than the religion that developed between them. And finally, most significantly (since the one state solution means Jews would be outnumbered), who better to speak of the rights of a minority to exist and flourish than black Americans?
What about all the Jewish civil rights attorneys that helped bring about civil rights with Dr. King?
3
Once again, religious people at each other's throats because they believe different versions of the same fairy tale.
3
In the aftermath of the 1967 Six Day War the UN security council forbade any Israeli annexation or settlement of conquered land. The Fourth Geneva Convention and the International Court of Justice also forbid Israeli settlement beyond the 1949 armistice boundary.
Ben Gurion, Weizman, Dayan, Meir and Eban also warned against occupation except for a security corridor between Israel and Jordan.
Every Israeli settler and every Israeli land grab is simply illegal.
2
Having filmed in Israel in 2011 and 2012, the word “Quagmire” comes to mind.
I love Israel. It’s beautiful. Truly a land of “Milk and Honey.”
I’ve been to Palestine. I never felt safe there. For the most part, it’s just the opposite of Israel.
Why is this?
Pause to consider that before the Jews came back to their homeland, most of the land was barren. What turned this barren land into “The Land of Milk & Honey?”
Work! Very hard work and above it all, a dream every Jew was willing to die for.
Martin Luther famously said, “I have a dream!”
If you want to change yourself and the world, you have to have a dream, and then be willing and able to push that dream across the finish line.
People can never be forced to dream, but they can be given the tools to accomplish great things if they are willing to work for it.
Years ago, both the Jews and The Palestinians actually had an opening and opportunity to come together and both of them blew it.
Good luck on anything positive coming out of either Trump or Bibi. Benny Gantz is the shinning star right now and the only hope for any kind of solution. He just needs everyone’s support.
3
Peace Process.....was a crude farce and stalling tactic as Israel continued gobbling up Palestinian land and oppressing the Palestinian people. The Palestinians West Bank "leadership"... complicit in the farce. I regularly saw their "leadership" at tony NY hotels and restaurants enjoying their complicity....in promoting the non existing Peace Process. Here we are 25 years later.
1
The magical thinking doesn't stop with no plan for separation. Both sides actively plan for the other side to disappear in a puff of smoke. Israelis seriously believe they can offer Palestinians a couple hundred each and have them march into Jordan. Palestinians seriously believe that Allah and terrorism will frighten Israelis into moving to the US. Mass insanity.
Funny, well, revealing really, that no one ever points a finger at "god". it is in part this obsession to be the "right" people and not "them" and theists can't get enough of that bigotry, that evil, that supremacist feeling. Whether its Christian, Muslim, Jew, or any other group that feels compelled to strike fear into their own to keep them in tow and so to strike fear in others to force either conversion of "removal".
1
This piece by Mr. Friedman is a slam dunk on every topic he touches. Mr. Friedman does not mention the role that Israeli intelligence agencies play in providing their American and European (and others!) counterparts with much sought after information.
I think that understanding these relationships would go a long way in explaining Israel's actions that are otherwise inexplicable.
The Global BDS movement is not just against the occupation, which is how The Times portrays it in the Trump/Jews news article and to an extent it’s found in the Tom Friedman article today. It is also for the right of the 5 million refugees to return to their homes in Israel proper. Numbers-wise, there goes the Jewish state. Bargouti, the head of Global BDS, states very clearly that Palestine will replace Israel. So many BDS supporters really don’t know the platform in any detail. Tlieb does, she wants a one state solution, which would become majority Palestinian in a few years.
I am anti-occupation and feel that the government’s treatment of the Palestinians is a moral blot
on the soul of the Israelis. I think the 2-state solution is the only way forward and the Israelis, as the stronger power, need to put viable plans forward. Tom, remember other conflicts seemed intractable, like the Troubles, and somehow they got settled. You gotta have hope.
The U. S. should make some of our aid to Israel contingent on humanitarian goals Israel achieves vis-a-vis the Palestinians.
The Palestinians need to make some good-faith gestures right now. Stop making payments to the families of “martyrs “. Get the hate-filled material on Israel out of the educational system. Clean up the vast corruption. The West Bank and Gaza has received enough aid to establish a good economy, but they’ve wasted it.
Finally, the Squad should step out of the limelight until the 2020 election is over.
4
Once the world has become secularized there will be no more stupid fighting over this dusty corner of the world.
The term mid-east peace process is a farce, I've been subjected to this topic since childhood, and frankly never wish to hear any more about it EVER.
What the comments here and to some extent the article fails to grasp is that, given the history, Israelis have lost any hope of the Palestinians accepting their presence anywhere in the region. The general feeling is that any situation wildly different than the horrible one we have now will not allow us to lead our normal safe lives. A proof of concept is the lives of people in the areas surrounding Gaza and most of us have vivid memories of rocket firings, terror attacked and family and friends killed (even in the 90s when the country was sure that a peace treaty is around the corner). Until this feeling changes Israelis will continue to, even if most are very unhappy about it, live with the suffering inflicted on Palestinians.
This is allowing the right wing to move forward with a mostly silent population, which has just given up on the hope of a solution.
Most Israelis don’t visit the West Bank and couldn’t care about the land there (I haven’t been there for more than 25 years and I don’t know anyone who has been there). We just want to be sure that we don’t wake up one day to discover that an analog of the Hamas carries out what it says it wants to do.
8
Neither the Palestinian nor the Israeli leaderships want peace or justice or compromise because neither will benefit from it. And by benefit I mean control political power. These self interested political elites deserve to be in the gallows but instead are in power. And for the past 50 years it has been the same way - one or the other or both elites feel they can benefit from terror, occupation and the status quo and since it takes two to make peace for the benefit of the people it simply does not happen.
The peace process is a farce because one side has corrupt, oppressive leaders who are profiting mightily from self enrichment.
While the Palestinian people have had no elections since 2006, are jailed and tortured if they protest or dissent, have no fee press, no gay rights, sub standard education which perpetuates generational hate - Hamas and Palestinian Authority leaders misdirect and misuse funds meant to improve Palestinian lives.
And the violence they continue to perpetuate against Israeli civilians has resulted in Israeli security measures which they mischaracterize as “occupation.” Suicide bombers, street stabbings, drive by shootings, car rammings, home invasions - this is why Palestinians are subjected to check points. Israel’s first duty is to protect her people from harm.
There is no incentive for Hamas or the PA to make peace. Why self terminate while they have such good paying jobs.
They have accomplished nothing - for the Palestinian people.
10
After victory in Europe in WW 2 the big 3 met in Potsdam & decided that the mistakes made at the end of WW 1 would not be repeated. 1 of those mistakes was drawing national borders that created instability due to including ethnic minorities in newly drawn borders. As it was impossible to draw borders where populations resided the solution was to move populations & millions were moved including ethnic Germans so there would never be another Sudentland claim
The 1947 U.N. partition of the British mandate territory into 2 states resulted in a war that had regional effects when a permanent ceasefire was declared. The Jewish population of almost all N. African Islamic states and of the Arabian peninsula, which was hundreds of thousands, was expelled with only the clothes on their backs, but the non Jews who were displaced from their homes in what became Israel weren't absorbed by any state that had expelled Jews. Instead since 1948 the displaced & their descendants have been used to maintain a claim of a right to return. This claim was then used to begin repeated wars against Israel that had the effect of Israel gaining control over more land and the people residing there
There can be no peace with a people claiming a right to return. That claim is mutually exclusive to Israel's right to exist. And the neighboring states which stole the homes & possessions of their Jewish residents need to assist in ending the plight of the displaced
5
It has the overtone of Trump versus Biden. Can Gantz defeat Netanyahu? Good question and there is not an easy answer.
Your words are prescient. I think in your short sentence you summarized what is wrong not only with the Palestinian-Israeli peace process but what is wrong with America. “There is no plan, only an attitude”. How do we ever come together on any type of plan if all we do is call each other names?
The last productive peace process was scuttled by Israel decades ago. Since then Israel has been dishonest, manipulative, and obstructionist.
The world is tired of Israel's kabuki. At this point the US is the only friend it has, and that friendship is fraying (when Democrats are in power).
Once climate change begins its economic consequences and global conflict ensues, the US will be too busy to protect Israel and the problem will solve itself. Hopefully Bibi will still be around to reap some well earned abuse.
3
What was scuttled by Israel? Please explain.
1
U.S. aid to Israel is looking more and more like campaign contributions to Bibi and Trump. Equating criticism of Israel with anti-semitism is wrong-headed and insulting, yet is a weapon that is wielded at the slightest provocation.
2
Want to truly escape magical thinking? Accept the fact that there will never be peace between Israel and the Palestinians or the rest of the Arab world until there is no longer a Jewish state in the Middle East. I'll leave it to others to decide whether the end of Israel would represent a triumph for long delayed justice or a tragedy.
2
I notice Mr Friedman leaves the political right out of the discussion. Does not mention the Christian Right, the congressional ideologues and grifters. A two state answer was off the table became obvious with Bibi’s first election. He lies to obsfucate.
On the other side, you can’t stay in the Middle Ages!
1
Until the following question becomes irrelevant, the "farce" will continue. The question is: In Israel today would you rather be a Palestinian or an Israeli?
3
Once again, Friedman meticulously avoids any mention of international law, any mention of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and any mention of numerous official UN resolutions.
Instead he perpetuates the official Israeli falsehood that a solution can only come from direct negotiations between the two parties. Wrong. The solution is already there, written in the law, written in UN resolutions, and written in official US foreign policy for decades.
If your neighbour encroaches on your land and diverts your water supply, where do you go for redress? If your neighbour refuses to recognize your rights and continues his theft of your property nobody is going to tell you your only solution is to negotiate with your neighbour. You rely on the law to protect your rights.
5
Why couldn't Jewish settlers live under Palestinian control? Is there a reason why a Jewish community (settlement) would have to leave if the West Bank became part of a Palestinian state?
6
It is very simple, Mr. Friedman. If Palestinians put down their arms, there will be peace tomorrow. If Israel puts down arms, there will be bloodshed tomorrow.
8
One would think something not being emphasized
could make less
Arab-Jew antipathy, and special appointee Kushner
could explore such semi miraculous possible facilitators.
For instance a friend tells me the DNA of
many Palestinians and of Israeli Jews match, which is quite interesting indeed
I’m trying to imply at least cousins if true. Though
it doesn’t seem to help though the suggestion of
blood kin has long fascinated me.
The Hadassah hospital is apparently also serving Palestinians, and this is an angle that the world is seemingly unaware.
I betcha the BDS movement is not aware either.
I concede the public schools are apparently arranged in segregated school systems, which doesn’t help.
Well, I tend to think all avenues have been explored, while frankly mutual hatred seems to prevail,
I like newspapers and magazines still, and
Haaretz isn’t soft in reporting.
1
The peace process will succeed once the Palestinians realize that the West Bank is part of greater Israel.
1
The only solution was not acted on when Israel conquered the West Bank and they did not heed one of their founding fathers who told the Israelis to give it back.
Everything after that was futile.
No Palestinian leader dares to say there will be no right of return and no Israeli leader dares to evacuate the illegal settlements gobbling up Arab land.
Israel has control of the Palestinians within the borders of state of Israel but these people did not have the basic rights of citizens namely the right to vote.
Israel is already Rhodesia and will remain so.
But why should the non Jewish citizens of the USA care? The fate of Israel is not a national security or an economic issue for us.
The Republicans and Trump have made support for Israel a political issue to obtain campaign funds and to fire up their Evangelical base.
In the long and intermediate term that is a very dangerous thing for Israel.
The two state solution never existed. Stop kidding yourself. There is no way that 500,000+ settlers are going to be removed from their homes to make room for two states. Why should they (the settlers) move when successive Israeli governments encouraged and facilitated settlements? Is it fair to them to ask them to upend their lives?
I think Israel should make de jure was is de facto a single state. Annex the entire West Bank and dissolve the Palestinian Authority (PA). The people of PA do not represent the people anyways. They are in it for themselves (When was the last election in the territories?). No wonder Israeli arabs would never want to give up Israeli citizenship.
Give all the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Israeli citizenship with full voting rights. I am sure that the future Jew, Muslim, Druze, Samaritan, and Christian citizens of a united Israel will figure out a way to live together. If we, in the United States, with our diversity have learnt to live in relative peace without occupying or disenfranchising groups of people (for the most part), I am sure the state of Israel, which shares our values, will be able to put their money where their mouth is.
And we, the United States, should stay the heck out their business. After 71 years, the state of Israel is rich, militarily unrivaled, and I presume mature enough to handle its own affairs. Our aid money is better spent at home or in our neighborhood.
3
"....they are living beyond the West Bank settlement blocks, where another 300,000 Jewish settlers live but would remain in any peace deal"
This is Friedman's attempt to legitimize land theft by the reasoning of George Bush's recognition of "facts on the ground".
ALLl settlement that violates international law must be removed.
5
Right. The Palestinians couldn’t imagine inviting Jews to live in their “country,” post settlement.
3
There is no peace because the Judea and Samaria and Gaza arabs don't want peace. They don't even acknowledge the existence of Israel calling it the zionist entity. Israel got tired of suggesting peace terms with the arabs rejecting them out of hand. And that is many times of proposals and rejections. The arabs have yet to seriously consider any proposal and perish the thought they have a reasonable proposal of their own.
Besides there is already a two state solution to Palestine. Jewish Israel and Arab Jordan. Let's not forget history.
8
Go google a pre-67 map of Israel. do it now so this makes sense.
As you see, the area we call the west bank was part of Jordan. There is no "Palestinian" country there that was occupied. It was part of Jordan.
That area only "Became" Palestine once the population there proved they could be human weapons against Israel.
Since 67 the offer of statehood has been made at least 2 times. The first by Begin, then by Ehud Barak and Clinton.
The answer to an offer of peace and statehood was the murder and terror of the second Intefada. Murder and terror as an answer from the man chosen to lead them.
Saudi has funded the Anti-Israel movement on campuses over the last 20 years. And spared no expense.
6
The only option left will be one state for two people, a recipe for permanent strife."
WHY is it a "recipe for permanent strife"? I see it as the only possible solution--a non-theocratic, democratic and pluralist nation-state, based on the ORIGINAL principles of socially democratic Zionism (in other words, on the ethical and moral values of Judaism).
And I think that the leaders of the Palestinian community should advocate to their people a campaign of massive non-violent civil disobedience that closes down the transportation systems, the telecommunications systems, the industries, etc. of Israel, until such time as complete political and legal equality exists between the two peoples.
Certainly that would cost lives, but it is the formula that has ALWAYS succeeded, eventually, for 20th century liberation movements. The loss of life in peaceful, non-violent struggle was accepted, in principle, by leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, because "ahimsa" is not violent, but neither is it passive. It accepts the risk of martyrdom. I think that it is the only thing that would free the Palestinian people, because it is what would tear the mask off of Zionist ethnic-cleansing, and attract the attention and ultimately the sympathy of Europeans and liberal American Jews.
1
@Robert Bruce Lewis
And you have no issues with 2 Arab states with no need for "diversity"?
With all the overt caving to Benjamin Netanyahu's wildest dreams by this administration that has literally endorsed the building of settlements in disputed areas and the erecting of a U.S. Embassy in the U.S. recognized capital of Jerusalem, a semi-balanced peace deal will have to wait until an adult returns to the oval office. The best that could be had for the Palestinians prior to that would be cards dealt from the bottom of the Netanyahu's personal deck.
A country whose snipers in one day shoot over two thousand young men in the legs and kills 75 others is not interested in a peace plan--that country has gone to the dark side and has other ideas about making peace.
5
"The only Israeli leader powerful enough to provide that right now is Netanyahu, but he is focused only on saving himself from indictment on corruption charges."
"When the world is a gang fight, people want a gangster to lead them." Rajiv Joseph, (Describe the Night), a dramatist who knows.
Trump is no different than Netanyahu. We the People must change this come 2020.
1
Here's a realistic peace plan:
Israel should muster some courage and tell West Bank Palestinians that they can forget about an independent state on the West Bank. They had their chance. They didn't take it. That ship has sailed. The region's demographics have changed.
The West Bank needs to be incorporated into Israel-proper. West Bankers should get full Israeli citizenship and rights. Palestinians who lost land, money or businesses should get Just Compensation as under the legal Doctrine of Eminant Domain. Forget about "right of return". People get cash instead. You want something back, take your cash and buy it back if it's available.
West Bank Palestinians can get some autonomy as French Canadians do in Quebec. And that's it. Case closed.
With the huge influx of Jews since 1948 the region allocated to Jews at that time is too small to support a viable nation-state for Jews today, much less two states.
At the same time, the UN should declare Gaza an independent state whether Gaza wants it or not. Israel vacated Gaza years ago. Egypt doesn't want Gaza back. Right now Gaza is a big nothing. I cannot think of any comparable situation anywhere in the world today. Independence for Gaza is the only viable outcome.
There's your Palestinian State. Gaza!
1
Arabs do not want normalization with Israel. Or peace of any kind if Israel is to survive. They is what they pronounce, teach, and advocate. Look at Gaza, which Israel left a dozen years ago. If that happens in Judea, what will people say then.?
Any conference now is boycotted by the arabs.
5
The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank is so secular that it just shut down all pro-LGBTQ organizations and activities on religious-cultural grounds.
8
It's funny that Mr. Friedman quotes two of the worst architects of the present mess. Begin, the hallucinatory nationalist who, when becoming prime minister, hugely accelerated settlement building, saying at the same time that "the settlements will never be an obstacle to peace". LOL. For this job he recruited Arik Sharon and made him minister of agriculture. Sharon never wasted time on cucumbers but instead used all his energy, cunning, cynicism and crude dishonesty to become the "father" of the settlers, seeding these poison mushrooms on every hill-top and under every bush.
It's all political cynicism and cowardice. When Sharon became prime minister he suddenly "saw the light", and famously quoted a line from an Israeli song "things that you see from here are not like what you saw from there" (forgive my crude translation) and had no problem throwing his past brethren out of Gaza Strip, leaving billions in ruins. Had he not become mortally ill by a massive stroke he would have done the same thing, maybe on a lesser scale, in the west bank.
And then the Palestinians who never had the courage to lead their people into a realistic compromise, still feeding their illusion of going back to where they formerly lived in Israel, in the name of "the right of return". No Israeli in his right mind would agree to that.
And last, the American impotence in leveraging their might to force the parties to stop their silly games. And that's how we ended up with Bibi, Trump and Kushner.
2
Unfortunately majority of the Arabs, and may be majority of the world now as opposed to the end of WWII would have problem with this statement:"rights of the Jews to a state in their historical homeland". That is why this is intractable and one state solution with equal rights will happen in a thousand years when they get tired of interminable wars and atrocities.
1
"Became"? I thought it's always been a farce.
42 year have passed since the 1967 war. In that time Israel has thrived as have the majority of her belligerents. Egypt made peace and regained control of the Sinai; Jordan made peace and has thrived.
Lebanon wanted peace until it was invaded and destroyed by the PLO. The only group that has yet to make peace is Palestinians. The rest of the world is thriving, but you are stubbornly clinging to the false promise offered by the Arab nations in 1967 that Israel would be destroyed and its inhabitants pushed into the sea. Your allies have abandoned you, Egypt treats the Gaza strip as a hostile border, closing the portways to contain Hamas.
Tlaib showed her true hand, embarrassing Israel was more important than visiting her grandmother. This attitude is the barrier to peace, the willingness to portray yourself as a victim.
Palestinians are not victims: Victims don't lose an offensive war and never sue for peace; victims don't send murderers to blow up buses and cafes; victims don't hijack ships in international waters and push old ladies in wheelchairs overboard.
I know it has been said before, but if Israel put their guns down today, they would be killed. If Palestinians put their guns down today, they would have their own nation. Big difference between the 2 sides.
7
Israel has become just another cog in the populist-nationalist movements across the globe. The common features are hate, intransigence, greed and power. Look at Trump's friends, it's a who's who of thugs. Putin, Netanyahu, Kim Jong-Un, Bin Saliman, Victor Orban and others. Make no mistake, if they gain enough power, we will all be in trouble.
2
" while making no mention of the rights of the Jews to a state in their historical homeland." interesting that Friedman born in Minnesota considers himself more entitled to live in Palestine than any of the indigenous peoples expelled by European settlers.
2
Gee mr friedman, where have you been for the last 50 years? Nobody thinks the "peace process", and I use the term loosely, is going anywhere. With fundamentalist Palestinians bent on destroying Israel and Israelis given carte Blanche to steal land and do as they please with our $ and weapons there is no process that can go anywhere.
When Yitzhak Rabin prepared his country for the painful ceding of the West Bank, Gaza and some portion of Jerusalem, Arafat did the opposite, didn't counter and started the Second Intifadah murdering over 1,000 Israeli civilians by blowing up busses, discos, pizzerias and Passover Seders. This was a key moment in time that could have ended very differently. Netanyahu is concededly no Rabin. But is their any reason to believe things have changed on the Palestinian side?
6
Mr. Freidman's analysis of the shortcomings of the Israeli, USA government s, and BDS movements, are spot-on.
The shortcomings of the Palestinian leadership (Hamas and Fatah) barely warrants a paragraph.
The elephant in the room.......Just because one is oppressed doesn't absolve them from blame for their faults. Everything and everyone involved must be equally held accountable, no one should get a pass here.
4
The whole thing is absurd. There's no plans for peace. There are plans to get Netanyahu and Trump re-elected. There are plans to siphon some money from rich Gulf Arab princes and emirs for projects that will never be built, money that will be used as bribes and disappear into a black hole of corruption.
There are no statesmen anymore. The world is run by absolute fools in thrall of their own voices. Give up on peace until we resolve that problem.
3
The whole underlying issue of religious arrogance and the concept of "a chosen people" sadly reminds me of the song....
"Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing,
Come the judgment day,
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away."
1
The two-state solution has always been dead since Israel chose a permanent military solution. The most galling aspect of all of this is the blind loyalty and total ignorance of most American politicians and the powerful de facto censorship and craven apology that afflicts anyone speaking out for democratic values and criticising Israel. Israel may claim it’s a democracy - it’s not - but it’s an ethnic electocracy - but is there any democracy in the world that uses a contract beteeen a non existent god and a mythical figure as the basis of its actual illegal land grab?
3
"The Palestinians are divided between an Islamist Hamas-led government in Gaza and the more secular Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. And both are teetering on failed-state status."
- how can they have "failed-state status"? The only state is Israel - so has it failed?
3
Tom, how is it even possible that a half century occupation of an entire people numbering in the millions, most who have never known anywhere else as home and with whole generations of kids raised under strict military control, the Israeli’s could not expect’ a thoroughly embittered adversary. Could it be just coincidence that anger begets the kind of defensive response that gives yet more reasons to control, imprison or even kill a people who are told ‘we want your land but not you’?
3
I've always had problems with the concept of "historical homeland" especially one that was under control of so many others for most of it's history. What gives the Jews such a special exemption to a right of return? Under this concept, Mexicans should be able to resettle the Southwest of the US. Native Americans should be able to retake their former tribal territory. Viking descendants of the British Isles might want to return to Denmark...Palestinian refugees as well, have a homeland claim to large areas of Israel having had several thousand years of continuous residency until the Nakba. To me, the Palestinians reacted to the creation of the State of Israel exactly as Native tribes of the Americas did when white Christians came barreling in to claim the land for themselves. And after stealing the land, marginalized those they stole from. If Israel desires to be a true democracy, then either they accept the Palestinians as full citizens with full rights into one nation, or they allow them full statehood in their territories without being an overlord, remove the settlements that break up the West Bank (or the settlers become Palestinian citizens) and acknowledge the "right of return" for the stolen properties with some form of reparations that will help the Palestinians develop an economy. The theocracy of Israel however, will likely prevent a true democracy from ever taking hold there.
3
What makes "one state for two people, a recipe for permanent strife" in Isreal? Why can't diversity be Isreal's strength as it is ours? Surely if Arabs can successfully integrate and become valuable members of European and American communities they can do so in Isreali ones? Maybe if Kamala Harris wins the US presidency she can help the Isreali leadership understand that busing Palestinian children into Jerusalem will lead to greater understanding as it did in the US.
1
Over population resulting from ultra Orthodox having way too many children is what will justify a religious state taking any land it can grab. Yet another argument against merging religion with state. I will give a pass to tree worship since it might just actually save mankind.
The point that Tom misses is that there never was any real prospect of a peace deal. The so-called “peace process” has always been a mere cover-up for the colonization process. It has always been the intention of the hard-core Zionist faction to get “all of the land, and none of the people. “
The 1948 war gave them most of the land and got rid of a lot of the people. The 1967 war got more of the land but got rid of very few of the remaining people. After the 1967 war, Israel had a clear choice. They could make peace with the Palestinians , who largely did not participate in that war and help them to establish their own state on the now freed areas of the West Bank and Gaza or they could militarily occupy it and try to remove the people or force them to leave.
After several years of dithering non-decision, the ultra right wing made it obvious the no Israeli politician could survive who ended the occupation and allowed an actual Palestinian state so a new strategy developed to create a cover-up “peace process” while slowly colonizing the West Bank.
But there was no real end game.
It became abundantly clear that there were now only 2 options. First, keep all of the land and grant full citizenship rights to allPalestinians or second to establish a “legal” apartheid state. The first option was political suicide for any Israeli politician, so the long process of convincing the world that their version of apartheid was now acceptable.
That, is the Kushner plan.
2
Wasn’t it always a farce?
1
Friedman unforgivably puts the entire burden on "the emergence of an Israeli leader making a "unilateral (withdrawal) from the West Bank (like) withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005."
How'd that work out? Hamas immediately took power, killed all political opponents, and started an unending war against Israel.
Yair Lapid of Blue and White already stated to Bari Weiss in the Times:
"Really, really wanting something…is just not enough." Lapid deeply values peace, and the right to self-determination, but there's no Palestinian remotely like "Anwar Sadat" for him to negotiate with.
Where was Friedman during the Camp David 2000 Summit? Still young, I strongly advocated for Palestinians, until I realized, like the much of the world, that I'd been played.
Arafat's "negotiation" was Palestinians would only accept 98 percent of their demands, including a fully recognized Palestinian state and return of all land from the 1967 war. It was deliberately meant to be totally unacceptable. Palestinians were sure Ehud Barak would never agree, yet he did.
Palestinians never wanted a peace of any sort, or a free Palestine unless Israel was destroyed, so they said "No" to Their Own Proposal. It's why peace utterly failed and why Israelis understand Palestinians only want to kill them.
There should have been a free independent Palestine celebrating a 20th Anniversary next year, but in 2000 Palestinians stated that nothing less than the total destruction of Israel was always their goal.
7
Netanyahu is a symptom of the problem. He is riding the wave of a totally unrealistic, religiously and racially motivated right, controlled by the rebbes of ultra-orthodox groups who tell their followers EXACTLY who to vote for and they slavishly do. They believe in ethnic cleansing and a "Greater Judea", pushing Muslims and even Christian Arabs totally out of that land. Putting power ahead of nation, Netanyahu has gone along with that. We've seen continuous illegal new building in the occupied territories, sometimes guarded by more IDF than there are residents.
The 2 State solution is dead, and it died with Yigal Amir's bullets in 1995, assassinating Yitzhak Rabin. Since that awful day (and I've met ultra-Orthodox apologists for Amir) the chances for the 2 State Solution have grown progressively worse and been non-existent during Netanyahu's tenure.
The idea that ANYONE in the Trump regime could reverse this would be laughable if it wasn't tragic. As for Jared Kushner, it's clear he's seen as a manipulable fool by far more experienced and ruthless leaders like MBS.
It's not that the Palestinian "leaders" haven't made it worse, they have. Hamas, in its ruthless quest for absolute power has willing made things worse for the people stuck in Gaza.
As for their Arab "brethren"? Not solving IS the desired goal because it keeps a diversion going from their own issues, like the Yemen war.
2
The solution to the Israeli conflict is simple. Israel needs to simply honor the 1948 UN Resolution and return the land of the Palestinian 's it ran off their land with violence and murder. Then it needs to abide by International law that prohibits long term occupation of lands captured in war and return West Bank and Gaza. This is from a conservative Republican.
1
Mr. Friedman, that State of Palestine exists.
Mr. Friedman, the State of Palestine is under illegal occupation.
These statements are made by consensus of the vast majority of nations on this planet.
These statements are rejected by only 3 nations on the planet: Israel, the USA, and Palau.
Your writings consistently ignore these facts.
4
Where is their capital? Where are their embassies? Where are the Arab embassies in Israel ?
There was an attack by its occupier on Israel who did not want the land or its people back. Military is largely out of the area. Yet no peace. The fact that all those countries agree with you when Palestine has no military power shows how dangerous and idiotic giving up its sovereignty would be for Israel. You forget that. How does calling it illegal help other than to ratchet up the anger.
2
Friedman's call for the emergence of a bold Israeli leader runs up against the example of Yitzhak Rabin, whom he does not mention. Rabin boldly signed the Oslo accords, and paid for it with his life. A similar fate threatens any Israeli leader who flouts the desires of the radical Israeli right.
1
Friedman seems in denial about the Israeli-Palestinian "Peace" Process ever being other than a farce ever since the non-Palestinian Leader Arafat rejected fair peace offers.
Sadly the last chance for a settlement was during Bill Clinton's presidency when he brought Arafat and Rabin to the White House. Rabin offered 90% of what the Palestinians demanded but Arafat was making huge amounts of money and turned it down and he lied about what had been offered. That lead to the extreme right in Israel killing Rabin and since then neither side wants a possible solution nor do the other Muslim states that use the situation as a distraction from their oppressive regimes. Netanyahu has to go or the world will become even more anti-semitic than it is already. Hamas has to go or generations will continue to be breed to hate and kill. Gaza and the West Bank are already two different societies. The West Bank is huge and empty - the possibility of creating a thriving country there on the banks of the river is great. You look across to Jordan and see all the towns and wonder why with all the money given to the Palestinians, a well working state hasn't been created. I worry about Jordan, a beautiful country that has more refugees than Jordanians, can it survive? Get rid of Netanyahu and Hamas and maybe? As someone who is not Jewish, I can only hope but without much belief.
1
The status quo benefits the Israeli government, why would they work to change it?
The US gives Israel $3-5 hundred million dollars A MONTH in foreign aid. Why, and how does this fit with the 'America First' doctrine? If a million wealthy American Jewish people contributed $500 a month, this burden would be eliminated. Kick start the US infrastructure rebuild with the savings of $500 million in spending a month, creating jobs and growing the economy.
1
Let’s make Israel part of the United States. The State of Israel, and include the Palestinians in that state. Kind of the opposite of divide and conquer - from a girl who knows nothing, but hopes for all people to love one another.
Every time the Israelis and the Palestinians have parlayed at the end the Palestinians lay on the table The Right of Return. Everyone knows that means the end of the Jewish state. There will never be a Peace Plan. It is a dream.
5
The reality on ground is that two state solution is dead. It is better for Palestinians to embrace One State solution and call Israel and its uncritical American backers' bluff of a Democratic Israel .
2
Three countries with self-congratulations about the wonders of their political systems -- Israel, the US, and the UK -- are now revealed to have very disfunctional political systems. Who'd have guessed?
1
Am I anti-Semitic if I do not believe that god is a real estate broker?
Am I anti-Israel if I regard its current leader as a right-wing ideologue who threatens world peace by playing on Americans' sympathy for Jewish aspirations for safety in their own homeland?
No, and No.
2
The Israel/Palestine conflict is really a regional problem. Lest we forget about the Palestinians living in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan who have second-class citizenship too. Singling out Israel as the nation who has the onus to make this all work when history shows it is far more complicated.
4
Subtext to this column: this is the price paid when politics is based on enemies. When your group seeks to gain and maintain political power by opposing a mortal enemy, then your group has absolutely no incentive to accommodate or resolve that opposition. To do so would be to deprive your group of its single, cohering principle. It's the dilemma of Israeli politics--and you see it here in the US.
1
There is a contradiction inherent in the identity of Israel: It simultaneously calls itself a Jewish state and a democracy. It feels it can't be a Jewish state if it gives full rights to Arab citizens within Israel or to the millions of Palestinians confined by checkpoints and economic embargo in the West Bank and Gaza. It also can't be a democracy if it denies Palestinians rights within the state.
The only answer to this is the two state solution. However, Israel has continued to support settlers in the West Bank undermining any hope for this. Additionally, they have responded without restraint to Palestinian protests in a disproportionate manner which only makes more extremists.
I am an American Jew. But I am also a human being. I am embarrassed by the current administration in Israel which dehumanizes the Palestinians. I am also embarrassed by the lack of rational debate on this subject in our politics.
5
if the Palestinians would acknowledge Israel's right to exist instead of claiming otherwise I think there would be movement toward a two-state solution
1
@Brassrat
Does Israel acknowledge the right of the Palestinians to exist? Have they acknowledged any past wrongs of displacing Palestinians or disproportionate responses killing and maiming Palestinians? Have they stopped the growth of settlements in the West Bank? The Palestinian leadership leaves a lot to be desired. However, Israel is a first world country supported by the most powerful country in the world. The other is a group of refugees that have had their rights and economic prospects taken for the last 70 years. Those conditions breed extremism. I expect more from Israel
2
Peace would bring about a major restructuring of the political and economic interests on both sides of the conflict. Many of those who hold power now, on both sides, would become irrelevant if there was peace and they are not about to let that happen.
1
Friedman tries very hard to seem fair and balanced but the fact that about 25% of the Israeli's living in the West Bank are all that can even be considered in the negotiations. They are a huge problem but the real problem is that until Israel stops all the West Bank settlements period there will be no peace process. The settlements are the problem and have been since the 1967 war that gave Israel all the cards in the negotiations.
The 105,000 settlers that are living deep in the West Bank need to be removed by force if necessary. There is only one country to blame for creating the current situation and only one country that can change it, Israel. And until Israel decides that it not only wants a workable two state solution but is actually willing to change the facts on the ground so that it is a possibility the idea is just a smokescreen for seemingly fair-minded people to hide behind.
The BDS movement may lack a defined purpose today but the only outcome that is not an apartheid state is itself become magical thinking. And once all hope of a two state solution is removed the BDS movement will have an easily defined purpose.
140
@Patrick McIlwain
The real problem is that until the Palestinians show a genuine desire for peace, and are willing to even talk about it, the settlements are a side issue.
16
Why this is a NYT choice escapes me when there are clear biases and wrong information. The land was offered back to Jordan after 67,73, and ultimately when they signed a treaty well after Israel and Egypt signed one where Egypt declined the Gaza Strip. Those were supposed to be part of a Palestinian state that the Arabs never allowed. The settlements which started more earnestly after the Peace Treaty with Jordan were not the sticking points in negotiations because they were offered equivalent land. Ending settlements would be necessary for a peace deal but not the factor. The obstruction to the peace deal has historically been Arab and Palestinian because the priority is not their state. If the settlements were the issue, why on earth would not the Palestinians take the deal, get their state, and stop the settlements? Why oh why? I’m sure their is a measure of fatigue in Israel trying to offer peace multiple times. It will take a leader; an Israeli leader to take the lead but (s)he will fall if their is no true partner with whom to shake hands.
24
@Patrick McIlwain
Why was there no peace before the settlements?
If the Palestinians & Jordanians had not attacked Israel, there would be no occupation.
Jewish settlements make a 2-state solution easier to achieve because Jewish settlers are generally wealthier than Palestinians, so when boundaries are drawn & those settlements on the Palestinian side of the border become part of Palestine & the settlers become Palestinians, the presence of these wealthier settlers will make a Palestinian state economically viable.
15
How come that NOBODY ever mentions who is Barghuti the founder of BDS and its declared aim "from the river to the sea" that is from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean meaning: no more Israel and Jews?
Coming from a well respected and knowledgeable individual as Mr. Friedman is appears unacceptable.
The task of this type of articles must include public education.
17
Ariel Sharon was also quoted by Yedioth Ahronoth [Israel’s top newspaper by way of circulation]:
"The terms 'democracy' or 'democratic' are totally absent from the Declaration of Independence. This is not an accident. The intention of Zionism was not to bring democracy, needless to say. It was solely motivated by the creation in Eretz-Isrel of a Jewish state belonging to all the Jewish people and to the Jewish people alone. This is why any Jew of the Diaspora has the right to immigrate to Israel and to become a citizen of Israel."- 28 May 1993,
4
Palestine (Canaan) has been the historical homeland of the Palestinians (Canaanites) since long before the creation myths of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam were invented.
4
Where did you get that from? So why is Jerusalem so important to the Palestinians?
3
@James
The Canaanites are not the present day Palestinians.
The people you call Palestinians came to that area in the 18 hundreds.
3
“The only hope I see is for the emergence of an Israeli leader ready to boldly make a unilateral — but coordinated — separation from the West Bank in the way that Ariel Sharon made a unilateral — but uncoordinated — withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.”
So how did that go Tom?
1
And for another nuance, this is an interesting older article about Arabs living in Israel NOT wanting to be part of a Palestinian state. Who'd of thought?
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4119/israeli-arabs-palestinian-state
5
Kushner approaches everything like his idiot father-in-law - as some sort of real-estate deal.
He has quite an impressive resume - he being the architect of the worst real-estate fiasco in NYC history.
Impressive times are these. Wake me when this nightmare is done with.
5
"The only hope I see is for the emergence of an Israeli leader ready to boldly make a unilateral — but coordinated — separation from the West Bank in the way that Ariel Sharon made a unilateral — but uncoordinated — withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005."
And pigs will fly.
Typical delusional Friedmanism. The notion that Israeli politics would produce such a figure on it's own is wishful thinking on steroids.
3
And please name an honorable Palestinian leader, ....Arafat? Can you name one?
1
This is as close as The NY Times can come to a balanced perspective. Congratulations! What seems to be missed was the failure of the Palestinian leadership to respond to the generous territorial proposals by Ehud Barak and Ehud Ohlmert—as the Palestinians continue their narrative around “the right of return”. 750,000 Palestinian Arabs were displaced during the 1948 war—which was started by the Palestinian Arabs and joined by the States of Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq—all of whom expelled nearly 900,000 Jews from their historic homes. Most of these settled in Israel. Not a single Palestinian Arab has been displaced from the “refugee camps” maintained by UNWRA since 1948–including those Palestinian “refugees” living in camps on the West Bank. The ISraeli left lost credibility when land in SOuth LEbanon, Gaza and the West Bank was surrendered followed by the loss of many Israeli lives to terrorism. Even though Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, genocidal texts against Jews sell on Cairo streets—and Iran (which has no conflict with Israel) threatens genocide daily against Israel. Hamas extended that to ALL Jews.
Just as the GOP has to endeavor to stop the destructive rhetoric of Donald Trump, the Democrats in the House lost their nerve when they caved to the anti-Semitic comments of the two Congresswomen. In 1980, Jimmy Carter’s barely disguised negative feelings about Jews caused the traditional Jewish support to drop from 70+% to 50+%. THere is a message there!
5
If Palestine stops fighting, there will be peace.
If Israel stops fighting, Israel and all the Israelis will be destroyed.
As several popular votes and the Palestinian map of the Middle East, which has a Palestine from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, show, this is what the vast majority of Palestinians want. (And if you think BDS doesn't want that, you are a fool.)
Would you chose that for your family?
Why should Israel?
7
Personally I think giving the Israeli's 3.3 Billion every year is a waste of money. They will never workout a solution with the Palestinians as long as the checks keep coming. Why would they?
4
@John Lusk
We don’t actually give them that money, it is like getting credits on a cruise ship: spend it here or lose it. Israel gets, basically, a discount on buying American military hardware.
1
Why would they have offered peace many times? We send 10x as much to the Saudis and they flew planes into our buildings.
3
Israel and Palestine need a Mandela, a de Klerk, and a Coetsee to accomplish the two state solution.
" Trump’s only participation in this process has been to exploit it by being slavishly pro-Bibi to win political donations from Sheldon Adelson "
Oh surely the great multiple Pulitzer prize winning NYTimes columnist/journalist Tom Friedman is not suggesting there's any truth to Congressperson Omar's infamous "benjamins" comment ?
2
I wonder if Mr. Netanyahu agrees with his benefactor, President Trump, that American Jewish citizens who vote for Democrats have a total lack of knowledge or exhibit "great disloyalty". For that matter, did he also agree with Mr. Trump when he stated that some Neo-Nazi protestors in Charlottesville - who shouted "Jews will not replace us" - are "very fine people"? Politics certainly creates strange bedfellows - which in this case, is a devastating detriment to us all.
2
Good old Tom Friedman, ever the cheerleader for Israel. Tom, have you forgotten about the Arab Peace Initiative? Or the Prisoner's Statement? Either one of them would give a good basic for bringing a last peace. Everyone subscribes to it, even Hamas, and it gives Israel everything it SAYS it wants. What's wrong with either of those, besides ISRAEL's "never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity?" On balance, this wasn't THAT bad of an article, but your bias shines through.
3
You clearly believe what you want to believe. Turn the mirror around. The Arabs and the Palestinians don’t want a state. They want the destruction of Israel and if Saudi Peace initiative which incidentally was a take or leave it proposal, included establishing relationships and embassies, why would they do that first? The answer is obvious. Your capital letters don’t make that obvious lie any more true when that was Arafat.
3
Oh man, where to begin with this one. Friedman here refers to Blue & White as Israel's "center-left" party. This can only be true if you also consider Netanyahu's Likud as a center-left party, which no one this side of Mussolini would. In the first 2019 Israeli election, Ganz's strategy was to present Blue & White as Likud-minus-Netanyahu; the only quibble he had with Likud was its corrupt leader. Netanyahu's profoundly racist stance against Palestinians and Israeli Arabs was no problem for Ganz, only his corruption.
Then he goes on to blame the Palestinians for not having a plan (they do) and for their division btw Hamas & the Palestinian Authority/Fatah. There is no sense that he even considers for a moment Israel's complicity in the Palestinians' chaotic governance.
He then claims that Israel's critics don't have a plan. We do and it's the only morally coherent plan on the table: one state with full democratic rights for all citizens. It seems obvious, and yet.
Then he goes for the kill: the only solution is for Israel to act unilaterally like Sharon did. That gave us Hamas in Gaza, never mind that it's a profoundly racist position that echoes British claims that the Raj was beneficial for Indians who were incapable of enlightened self-governance. Friedman fetishizes so-called disrupters and outside-the-box thinkers. Try this on for size then: the day I hear a Zionist like Friedman advocate for a single democratic state is the day there will be hope for true peace.
1
The plans that you say in the table are Israel surrender and walk into the Mediterranean it is so condescending to think Jews would be idiots to accept that. Palestinians put down their weapons there would be true peace, not genocide.
3
The people with the biggest guns always have and always will dictate terms.. please stop blaming Palestinians it’s insulting.
4
That’s what the Arabs thought and Continue to think. They use Palestinians as shields.
1
Back in '67 I applauded Israel's seizure of Gaza and the West Bank in the now thoroughly discredited naïve expectation that the Palestinians would receive peace, order and good government. Instead they got slow motion underhanded ethnic cleansing as they have been incessantly squeezed into ever smaller corners of an apartheid state. The robbers insist on holding on to their ill gotten gains and continue scheming to take more.
5
What’s with the Times’ photo selection process today? Except for a bit of cropping, the photo used in Friedman’s despairing column is the same one used in the article about Trump’s idiotic comments re “disloyal Democrats.” Meanwhile the two photos’ rather peculiar lineup behind Tlaib and Omar communicates a message all its own...although it’s not clear what that message is.
2
What is your complaint exactly? They are pictured as they are.
@Sarah Crane Chaisen Why do you assume I’m complaining? I think it’s hilarious. I’ve worked with several attractive, Well-dressed people who are careful to ensure that their subordinates are neither. Nothing new here.
If you want to go back to this conflict's beginnings it basically started with Moses, Moh., and to a lesser degree Christ and all their followers integrating religion and state.
They are all basically semites but have been killing each other for yrs. because of religious differences. If not it would most likely be called the land of the semites today.
We can thank the founding fathers for creating separation of state and religion and Lincoln for saving it that we don't have this horror story here re this issue.
2
The only farce, Thomas L. Friedman, is you. Israel has offered the Palestinians 90% of what they asked for, not once but twice, and something close to it in a third offer. Arafat told them to pound sand all three times. Israel has given up land (see: Gaza) multiple times. In exchange, it's gotten unending violence and the murder of hundreds of its citizens. The farce, Thomas L. Friedman, is your continued belief that Israel is majority at fault in the failure to achieve peace (see: "Palestine: from the river to the sea"). Your agenda has been clear for many years. Thankfully, the facts and history of the true impediment to peace are much clearer.
5
1. "became" a farce? It's always "been" a farce.
2. Stop calling Netanyahu, "Bibi". You make him sound like a dear child.
3
Am I the only one who finds the Palestinian kid facing off the Israeli Army with a sling to be just a little too reminiscent of David and Goliath?
2
Where is your “loyalty”? May we ask. The President claims democrats are disloyal to Israel. For all those who see this as clear as day light, the whole notion of dual loyalty, they are labeled anti Semite for saying this aloud. So can you rest assure us your loyalty lies with the US first and foremost?
(Sarcasm)
2
Settlers? Actually squatters stealing Palestinian land. Language usage matters!
4
Friedman is losing credibility when he thinks Kushner has any real plan for 'peace'.
1
I'm getting tired of reading Friedman=style promotion of Israeli interests; "magical thinking", "reality denial", "Palestinians also have not put any detailed two-state peace plan on the table", "no mention of the rights of the Jews to a state in their historical homeland", "300,000 Jewish settlers live but would remain in any peace deal", .......
Mr. Friedman how about writing about Palestinian legal and human rights in one of your essays ..... just one ...... I'm waiting.
3
@Greg
Hamas denies Palestinians their rights. The Palestinians of Gaza have no freedom of speech, no freedom of the press, no freedom of assembly no freedom of religion & no vote.
It makes no sense to blame the Israelis or the Jews because there are no Israelis or Jews in Gaza. Jews lived in Gaza for centuries, but were ethnically cleansed by the Palestinians in 1929. If the people of Gaza want freedom, if the people of Gaza want their rights, they need to overthrow Hamas.
2
sigh..so much spilled ink on this issue..its pathetic.
israel offered, twice, by leftist prime ministers, about 95% of the west bank and east jerusalem as well. both times rejected with all kinds of ridiculous excuses. meanwhile, they teach that isarel does not exist and that thee is no Jewish link to the land- they are european interlopers. don't believe me? look it up. they don't even bother to hide it.
it is 100% clear to the non-willfully blind, and a majority of israelis, that there is no one to talk to, and the other side is not interested in actually running a state, but is happy to foment chaos and get their fat salaries and support from the UN.
6
In 2014 there around 400,000 Israelis living in the West Bank. Now there's probably 450,000. On the outskirts or in the middle, I seriously doubt they are leaving. A map looks like Swiss cheese. How can you have 2 states? How can you connect Gaza. It's ridiculous & the Palestinians know it. They have no control or power over it anyway.
Here's a solution, and really the only one that might work. Most of the Israelis leave the West Bank. They go back and take over Gaza. Any Palestinians who want to stay become Israeli citizens. Everyone else is moved to the West Bank. Israel rebuilds Gaza. The West Bank becomes Palestine. Many Palestinians are allowed to return and live in the West Bank. The well off countries help provide the money & logistics. A Marshall Type plan. And that's that. But it's like a fantasy and things will just go as they have. Israel will go on being an apartheid state while constantly proclaiming they are a democracy. Eventually taking the most of the West Bank. The Palestinians will be a lost people without hope.
1
This has been a photo opportunity for Israel for decades. For Israel to show the world, that they are interested in peace. What a joke this is, the actions of Israel shows its true intentions. Taking Palestinian land in the West Bank, demolishing old historical Arab houses in Jerusalem. The detention of Palestinian children, the abuse of Palestinian women, the incarcerations of every able Palestinian man in those territories. Peace Process?? Doesn’t exist and it won’t be unless the United States of America is controlled by EIPAC.
1
@RBR
“Using child soldiers is illegal under international law, and human rights groups have condemned Hamas for its widespread use of child recruits."
Captured child soldiers should be locked up so they can't kill anyone.
2
Perhaps someone could explain why Israel can have more than a million Arab citizens but some proposed state in the West Bank is untenable if it contains one hundred thousand Jews. Well, actually we all know the answer but it would be nice for Tom not to evade the issue. And he has little to say about Gaza, obviously, since no one has any idea what to do about that mess.
6
Another great Friedman column, especially in its conclusion that “The only hope I see is for the emergence of an Israeli leader ready to boldly make a unilateral — but coordinated — separation from the West Bank in the way that Ariel Sharon made a unilateral — but uncoordinated — withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.”
What does it say that the Israeli leader most likely to do what Friedman advises—Tzipi Livni—felt obliged to retire from politics and is never ever given space in the influential pages of the New York Times? My guess is that the Israeli-Palestinian problem could be solved if you put Livni and Hanan Ashwari alone in a room with the power to make commitments on behalf of their peoples. But, I suppose, that is another fantasy that will never happen.
@Mike. Of course expecting a great Palestinian leader to be a champion for peace is apparently unconscionable.
1
Standard pro-Israel talking point: "why don't you criticize other, terrible, regimes Why is only Israel the target".
Let's turn this around. You say that BDS progressives make no mention of the rights of the Jews to a state in their historical homeland.
What about the rights of Native Americans?
What about the rights of Hispanics dispossessed of the northern half of Mexico, now the US SW.
What about the right of Serbs to a state in their historic homeland, Kosovo?
Why does only Israel have the right?
And by the way, the phrase "historical homeland" is tossed around uncritically by supporters of Israel. There are two problems with this claim:
1) Is Palestine the historical homeland? If so, how much? What about the previous inhabitants? How much of the genocide recorded in the Book of Joshua, is true? If much of it is true, should the world worry about protecting the right of Jewish Return?
2) Are contemporary Jews sufficiently the descendants of the ancient Hebrews (circa 1200 BCE) or the Jews of Roman times (200 CE) to exercise some Right of Return? There is quite a controversy, with a main role played by Jewish revisionists.
BTW, my belief is that Jews born in Palestine, the Sabras, and their immediate relatives, have a right to stay, a la we Americans.. Both should make room, real room, for the dispossessed earlier inhabitants.
Some humility on this count will stand Israelis in good stead.
3) Actually I supported NATO intervention in Kosovo.
@alyosha
There’s a conflict of rights. The Palestinians have the right of return (although they deny the Jews the right of return) & the Israelis have the right to life (UN Declaration of Human Rights) which would be endangered by the return of the Palestinians who had been murdering the Jews. The right to life is more important than the right of return.
2
What started out as a home land for Jews has become a desire for a greater Israel.Israel is a thriving nation known throughout the world as creators of technologies that are the envy of the world.
The Palestinians are their own worst enemies, instead of carving up Israel into two states, they should be concentrating on becoming part of the greater Israel. It is working for the Arab Israeli’s that enjoy the education & heath facilities of Israel, and one of the highest standard of living in the Middle East.Of course ,that is easier said then done, as Israel is not in favor of having over one million Palestinians , who are hostile to the Jewish State as part of Israel.Kirchner offered the Palestinians the financing to create a standard of living that would compare to the wealthiest places in the world. However, the Palestinians didn’t want it. What they still want is the destruction of Israel & the Jewish people.They may get it eventually, but in the meantime they are considered an enemy of Israel, and cannot give their people a better Standard of living.
2
If Israel agreed to turn their entire country over to the Arabs except fot Tel Avis as part of some peace deal within hours of its implementation missiles would reign down on the city. If history proves anything it is that the so called Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in peaceful coexistence with a Jewish State Most Israelis now accept this and see crisis management as the only realistic solution
7
With Israel's government steadily moving towards annexation of the West Bank, and Friedman warning of Rhodesia-like apartheid, Friedman still can't bring himself to support B.D.S.? How does he expect to pressure Israel?
B.D.S. has one goal: end the occupation. It has one strategy: economic (nonviolent) pressure, the same kind we put on Rhodesia back in the day. (And Rhodesians, predictably, complained that the pressure was anti-white.) It's time to put humanity ahead of Bibi's annexation.
173
@Unconventional Liberal BDS is not any solution, and I'm saying this as someone who supports the peaceful resolution between the Palestinian people and the state of Israel, though that's nothing of what Israel wants.
The lack of focus from the supporters of BDS shows they have desire for change, but not the functionality required. They should be putting more energy into working and less into screaming, though I get the reason to scream.
12
@Unconventional Liberal You clearly did not read the entire editorial...
5
@Unconventional Liberal Point of information: Omar Barghouti, BBDS' founder actually has stated that the BDS' goal is actually the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state. He said (this is the quote Bill Maher recently recited): “Definitely, most definitely we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No Palestinian, rational Palestinian, not a sell-out Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine."
38
But my dear Mr. Friedman, what you don't want to admit is that the Israeli-Palestinian so-called "peace" process has been a fraud for many years now. Yes, the Palestinian leadership has often been short-sighted, self-defeating, and intransigent, but also, despite their rhetoric, none of the main Israeli political parties really wanted to grant independence to the Palestinians either. Perhaps when they had the overwhelming abundance of power as during the late 1960s to mid-1970s, the Israeli leadership could have actually granted concessions that would have persuaded Arafat to enter into a real peace deal. But this never happened. And not because these Israeli parties harbored an existential dread for the future of Israel. The mainstream of Israeli political thought always sought (but never admitted they sought) a slow, continual encroachment into the West Bank, a dismemberment of these territories, and strangulation of the Palestinian will. The hope seems to have been (and still is) that eventually through never-ending Palestinian out-migration (by making conditions so bad that emigration seems the best of many bad options) and Israeli encroachment the "problem" will resolve itself. In the meanwhile, always pretend you want to negotiate, and above all, get your friends in the press maintain the illusion of Israeli goodwill.
2
@Lotzapappa
Every time Israel offers to end the occupation, the Palestinians say “No!”
Even Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia (certainly not a Zionist) said that Arafat’s refusal to accept the January 2001 offer was a crime. Thousands of people would die because of Arafat’s decision & not one of those deaths could be justified.
As Clinton later wrote in his memoir:
It was historic: an Israeli government had said that to get peace, there would be a Palestinian state in roughly 97 percent of the West Bank, counting the [land] swap, and all of Gaza, where Israel also had settlements. The ball was in Arafat’s court.
But Arafat would not, or could not, bring an end to the conflict. “I still didn’t believe Arafat would make such a colossal mistake,” Clinton wrote. “The deal was so good I couldn’t believe anyone would be foolish enough to let it go.” But the moment slipped away. “Arafat never said no; he just couldn’t bring himself to say yes.”
2
Hey! Why not just buy a chunk? After all, it’s just real estate. The Kushner piece plan in obvious now that we know about the thinking around Greenland!
kushner's "long promised Israeli-Palestinian peace plan" is still a secret because he has none. He's a fraud as is his father-in-law. Crazy keeps getting crazier.
1
A better article, Mr. Friedman, would have looked at how the Israeli playbook is being copied as a way to change the demographics in Kashmir.
1
"separation from the West Bank in the way that Ariel Sharon made a unilateral — but uncoordinated — withdrawal from the Gaza "
And we all know how well that worked out
5
Thomas Friedman recirculates conventional wisdom that is stale. Dennis Ross epitomizes all that has been wrong with most U.S administrations—being dishonest brokers. Except for President Carter and maybe Bush 41, Presidents have uncritically supported Israel, economically, politically and militarily without strings attached. It is this help that aided and abetted the occupation and apartheid regime. Friedman does not mention the U.S as a culprit. Grave omission.
1
@Michael Nathanson
Apartheid in Israel???
Where are the separate bath rooms & water fountains?
Why are there Arabs in the Israeli Parliament & on the Israeli Supreme Court?
4
Reality: the two-state "solution" has been deceased for some time now: it died along with Rabin. What has changed is that Bibi is being honest about his intention to annex all of what would have been a Palestinian state and "deal" with the Palestinians in unspecified -- but clear - ways. Apartheid and "encouragement" to move. South Africa's eventual way forward is all that remains.
1
Let the Jewish residents of the settlement blocks become full-fledged citizens of the new PA-governed Palestine. If Arabs can become citizens of Israel, then Jews should become citizens of Palestine.
4
Israel wants the Palestinian lands. Just NOT the Palestinians.
Just look at the incremental construction of Israeli settlements among the Palestinian lands.
Look at the apartheid conditions every bit as bad as Rhodesia and South Africa.
Look at the rat-maze of barriers Palestinians must navigate.
Look at Palestinian farmers who have lost orchards that have been in their family for generations in the name of Israeli security.
Look at Israel’s economic blockades that prevent Palestinian businesses to prosper.
Look at Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
Look at the condemnation of Israel by the UN and most nations around the world.
Look at how Israel blocks US Congresswomen from visiting Israel but it has not blocked the four billion dollars a year US taxpayers send to Israel.
Does Israel have a final solution to this mess?
6
@Richard
Israel signed peace treaties with Jordan & Egypt even though that meant giving up large areas of Biblical Israel. That shows that Israel is more interested in peace than in land.
Jews have lived in Palestine for thousands of years. Palestinians ethnically cleansed Gaza of its Jews in 1929 and the West Bank & East Jerusalem of their Jews in 1948. Why shouldn't Jews rebuild their homes in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem?
No occupier has ever treated the occupied the same way that it treats its own citizens, but no one has ever called that apartheid unless the occupier is Israel. Why?
Israel delivers hundreds of truckloads of food & supplies every day. It's border control to prevent Gazans from getting weapons to murder more innocent Jews.
The UN is prejudiced against Israel. For example,
the UN criticized only one country for its treatment of women. It was not Saudi Arabia where women were not allowed to drive. It was not Egypt or Iraq or Yemen where girls suffer from female genital mutilation. It was not Palestine or Jordan or Iran where women are subjected to honor killings. It was Israel – a country that has had a female prime minister & female fighter pilots.
UN criticized only one country's treatment of women. Not Saudi Arabia where women couldn't drive nor Egypt, Iraq or Yemen for female genital mutilation, nor Palestine, Jordan or Iran for honor killings. It was Israel - female female fighter pilots & a female prime minister.
1
I see the “plan” that Friedman endorses, unilateral withdrawal with military control of the West Bank and some autonomous rights granted to Palestinians as bad a solution as any, and wholly unacceptable to the Palestinians. It is similar to the solution offered by the former mayor of Jerusalem on Morning Joe the other day. Tellingly, he referred to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria, underscoring a religious motivation. Political autonomy for the Palestinians while occupied the Israeli military and 300,000 entrenched settlers would render them citizens of a vassal state.
The Palestinians must be given the trust required to create their own autonomous state, with significant economic backing by all affected parties, including the US, EU, Israel and the Arab neighbors. Israel has the strength and fortitude to protect itself within defined legal borders.
Yes, there will be terrorism, and it will take time, but peace and economic security will prevail . The new state can be policed by an international force of Palestinian, Israeli and international composition. Gaza, abandoned to extremists upon the Israeli departure, and subject to economic embargo, is often used to prove terrorism will prevail. It is a bad example; physical abandonment without economic, political and social support was always a recipe for failure, and part of the strategy to annex the West Bank lest it devolve into a Gaza.
1
@Asher Fried
How can there be peace between Israel & the Arabs when the Arabs can't even live in peace with each other? Arabs have killed hundreds of thousands of Arabs & displaced millions of Arabs.
3
@m1945
By working in partnership with an autonomous Palestinian state and treating them with the dignity and respect not accorded them by other Arab states and terror groups like Hamas that exploit hatred to the detriment of ordinary Palestinians. The abandonment of Gaza to Hamas and imposition of economic sanctions did not confer such respect.
Israel is the dominant party, militarily and economically superior; it need not cede that superiority to offer true assistance to founding an autonomous Palestinian homeland. However, it must give up expansionist aspirations and instructive military occupation.
1
There is no hope for peace. The Israelis decided a long time ago that they can live with an endless low simmering war and occupation until the Palestinians are squeezed out of all of the disputed territories. In the long run the Jews will have their historic homeland, but the way they will have seized it will perpetuate anti Semitism in perpetuity.
1
@USS Johnston
The Arabs ethnically cleansed the West Bank, Gaza & East Jerusalem of EVERY Jew. Israel could have done the same to the Arabs in Israel, but it didn’t. There are 1.8 million Arabs living in Israel today.
Israel is multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-confessional, multi-lingual liberal democracy.
6
@USS Johnston And the Palestinians decided it’s okay to lob rockets.
1
The problem lies with the Palestinians’ notion of what “ending the occupation” means. See https://www.jns.org/opinion/end-which-occupation/
4
I don't know how we can fix Middle East peace, but I do know that sending in an inexperienced person to do an Ambassador's job is foolish. Especially one that only talks to one side and unilaterally comes up with a plan no one is interested in.
The approach Trump has taken is fantastically ignorant of how agreements, not "deals," work in international relations. All Trump did was waste years sucking up to his rich donors and his big friend Bebe.
We need to change our leadership so we can get back to serious work on Middle East peace. Israel as Apartheid is too awful to accept.
1
@RA GoBucks
Benjamin Pogrund
“…during 26 years as a journalist in South Africa I investigated and reported the evil that was apartheid. I saw Nelson Mandela secretly when he was underground, then popularly known as the Black Pimpernel, and I was the first non-family member to visit him in prison.
I have now lived in Israel for 17 years, doing what I can to promote dialogue across lines of division. To an extent that I believe is rare, I straddle both societies. I know Israel today – and I knew apartheid up close. And put simply, there is no comparison between Israel and apartheid…”
6
@RA GoBucks So which ambassadors have been successful? Did Kerry or Clinton accomplish anything?
Add Mr. Friedman to the list of fantasists. Turning to an Israeli apologist like Dennis Ross is not the act of an American serious about seeking an actual negotiated settlement.
2
Only Trump could accuse Jews of being anti-Semitic.
1
@EC. Even you must know that’s not what he said.
@EC, what do you call Jews who don't like Bernie Sanders?
Israel, a Jewish State lacking a written constitution within which lives and resides a growing non-Jewish population seems destine to become an apartheid state -
1
Arabs need their own state but we have to live with them here? They can be bigoted bit we can’t
1
A stalemate made in Hell...Israel displaying the arrogance of power despite their ancient and modern history of persecution and death matched by a self serving West Bank government that has not held elections since 2005 not allowing their own people a democratic process. A Hamas run Gaza that keeps its own people imprisoned. A poverty stricken Arab West Bank which sends 15,000 men illegally to work in Israel daily where they make 3x what they make locally.
If Israel annexes the West Bank the Arab population will represent a sizable minority that will not be allowed to vote.
The West Bank Arabs will never recognize the right of Israel to exist making Peace impossible.
1
Always photos of Palestinian youths throwing rocks at IDF forces bombing hospitals and schools. Rocks versus bombs.
2
@Jeff Hauser. But we know who is lobbing rockets and killing Israelis.
2
@Jeff Hauser
The bombs were used to destroy rockets before they could be fired at Israelis. If Palestinians were not firing rockets at Israelis, then Israelis would not need to bomb the rockets.
2
Dude, there is no plan except the personal enrichment of trump and his idiot-filled family of greedsters. Wake up.
Why is it leftist Jews are moral on so many issues, except Israel? Friedman always makes so much sense, but not on this issue. The Dems are clear in their plans, like the rest of the world except for the Jews: pull back to the pre-1967 border! Friedman, stop playing games. Boycott Apartheid Israel!
1
@Joe
Pre-1967, the Israelis were inside 1967 borders, but Arabs were attacking them anyway.
Irshad Manji asks:
“In a state practicing apartheid, would Arab Muslim legislators wield veto power over anything? At only 20 percent of the population, would Arabs even be eligible for election if they squirmed under the thumb of apartheid? Would an apartheid state extend voting rights to women and the poor in local elections, which Israel did for the first time in the history of Palestinian Arabs? Would the vast majority of Arab Israeli citizens turn out to vote in national elections, as they've usually done? Would an apartheid state have several Arab political parties, as Israel does? Would the judiciary be free of political interference? In the 2003 Israeli elections, two Arab parties found themselves disqualified for expressly supporting terrorism against the Jewish state. Israel's Supreme Court overturned both disqualifications.”
1
Friedman is wrong. There will never be a
Peace plan. Arab dictatorships need the Jews as perpetual scapegoats to distract their populations from graft corruption and endless poverty imposed on them so they may live in luxury.
Jews mist be the enemy. Otherwise all stated would be democracies and a
Peaceful solution wanted by all.
Stop blaming Jews. Israel is 10 miles across for God sake. Jews know by now their is no solution with rich dictators. Most Jews hate subjugating Palestinians.
The Holocaust taught the fruits prejudice power and white supremacy and white racism.
Get a grip Friedman.
5
Israeli politicians, like Netinyahoo, don't want peace. They are kleptocrats. And they are trying for a sneaking genocide of the Palestinians.
1
Those idiots put Jared Kushner in charge, that's how.
I guess I am confused. It took decades for any Arab to even use language that recognized Jewish historical, religious, cultural, indigenous and lawful rights in the area. Even Saeb Erekat currently uses language that Israel proper was stolen from the Palestinians. The Palestinians have rejected deal after deal from Barak to Olmert's offer.
Israel has no territorial ambitions in Gaza but Hamas' stated and practiced goal is to destroy Israel. In theory this should be a Palestinian success story rather than hell whole. The moment sanctions are lifted is the moment Iran sends in more weapons. Protesters don't seem to care about that.
The Temple Mount is the single most important historical and religious area to Jews but they can not pray there despite documented history, Abbas wrote a thesis denying Jewish history there. Imagine is a Israeli leader openly denied Islam's connection to Al-Aqsa?
There are 120,000+ missiles on their norther border with language from Hezbollah and Iran that they have no issue attacking civilian populations. What other country deals with this?
Tlaib's visit was organized by MIFTAH that openly pushes absurdities like Jewish blood libels but that is left out of most press coverage.
The list goes on...
Was there every really a peace process?
I don't support every action of the Israeli's and one needs to be able to criticize Israel without being called anti-semitic but I get it why the Israelis are so paranoid and sometimes act extreme...
4
I'm not ready to forgive Tom Friedman after his insulting insinuation that Jews who plan to vote for Trump are, in his words, "damn fools."
Relax Tom. Now it's Trump who's making the equally insulting insinuation that Jews aren't loyal Americans if they vote for the Democrats. Jews just can't seem to catch a break because both sides are accusing Jewish Americans of dual loyalty. Should Jewish Americans have their bags packed in case we have to make a run for it to Israel?
Anyhow there is no peace process. Why does everyone cling to the outdated notion that a two state solution will magically solve everything? Israel gave up Gaza and was rewarded with attacks and bombings.
They could all threaten to move to Greenland, if Bibi is re-elected...
1
Tom Friedman is again falling into the trap of intellectualizing the Israel Palestinian issue, and trying to solve it, or criticizing attempts by others. Nothing new!
The first step to solving this problem is to humanize both sides, not just the Israelis. Palestinians are real people with real stories, they should be allowed to speak up as equals. This is what the two congresswomen are bravely doing. BDS is a Palestinian initiative, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with Americans choosing to support it. Why should there be?
The Israel lobby is (according to Forbes) among the top three most powerful lobbies, and by far the most powerful foreign lobby. It ensures that only the Israeli side is heard: when is the last time we saw a documentary on Gaza or a mainstream TV news report?
Once the Palestinians are humanized, then it is up to the two parties (not Tom Friedman) to figure out how to live in the same neighborhood.
150
@Baddy Khan It require the Palestinians to find their Sadat. No amount of humanization while firing missiles at Israelis will bring peace.
21
@Baddy Khan
BDS is not an attempt to humanize Palestinians, it is an attempt to demonize Israel.
BDS seeks the unconditional end of occupation without anything specific in its place. That effectively means full Palestinian statehood. So it is more than a little disingenuous for you to suggest that BDS does not seek to impose a solution on Israel.
24
@Baddy Khan While I agree with you about the Israeli lobby, you are very passive with respect to the Palestinians. Should their rocket launching across the border still be accepted by Israel? Should their continued use of vital resources be diverted from their people to the building of tunnels into Israel be accepted? Hamas has a stranglehold on the Palestinian Authority - why? Israel is by far no saint in all of this chaos, but their far from alone in being blamed.
17
My message didn't get published. So I am writing again and am wondering if this time it will. Thank you Mr. Friedman, you enlightened me on certain points, how 'hard it is to reach any concession, particularly when Palestinian and Israel are knocking each other out as best as they can. and I think what you wrote make a lot of sense, there are currently too many hands involving in Palestinian-Israel Peace Process, i.e. the wrong kind of hands that lack the tactfulness and the insight for 'peace in the future' in mind. Then, it is really impossible to carve out a peace plan, until both sides want this. The thing is, we need a moral courage to give in.
Friedman on a roll these past few columns - spot on here. We are in an era where on the right, demagogues put their own interests above the nations they are stewards of, and on the left, ideology is a mask for intolerance and revenge. It's a pity - far more than that - that the Palestinians cannot emulate the Gandhi/MLK/Hong Kong mode of resistance and that the Israelis cannot see the moral hazards they face.
2
Whether Friedman, Kushner, Rep. Tlaib or Netanyahu is right about the Israeli Palestinian conflict is uncertain.
What is certain, based on how polling goes among the young and in other countries is that in 50 years Israel will be the most isolated state in the world.
They need to work on that.
The solution is simple. People who call themselves Palestinians should resettle in Jordan. After all, they had no problem being a part of Jordan from 1947 to 1967. They did not call for a separate Palestinian state then. What happened?
3
Friedman's assertion regarding the "rights of the Jews to a state in their historical homeland" is based on an extremely tenuous claim dating back to Biblical times. Stories shrouded in myth are hardly a justification for a modern colonization project.
The settlements continue to expand because they are a reflection of the same mindset that led to the establishment of Israel: Might Makes Right.
3
One of the problems I find troubling about Mr. Friedman’s analysis is that he takes it for granted that the vast majority of settlements are here to stay. Those settlement blocs alone ( which he somehow distinguishes from “deep in the West Bank settlements” ) still almost split the West Bank in two. Let’s remind ourselves that the West Bank is only 40-50 miles wide at its widest point. What does deep in the West Bank mean in such a small geographical area? East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza represent only about 27% of the original Palestine mandate. The Palestinians have already accepted this and even Mr. Friedman demands that they get even less. Friedman even advocates that the future Palestinian state cede it’s security to Israel. Friends of Israel do need to understand that Rhodesian style government is already here. And as far as BDS, how many times over the decades were Palestinians criticised for taking up arms to resist the occupation? For turning to violence to achieve their goals. BDS is a non violent movement modelled on the one that helped end apartheid in South Africa. And yes BDS does not state it’s end negotiating position clearly. Why should it. The PLO recognised Israel in 1988 and negotiated Oslo accords in 1994 and yet despite all of this the settlements have grown and the Israeli political landscapes has moved to the right. The Israelis have created the conditions that make a one state solution the only democratic peaceful solution to the conflict.
3
@Antonio Zazueta, why are you assigning any significance to the size of the Palestine Mandate? That was just the area controlled by the British after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of WWI.
Also, BDS DOES state its position clearly. It has three demands and you can find them on their Web site. One of the demands is ambiguous: ending the occupation of "Arab lands." It is often interpreted as ending the occupation of the West Bank, but Omar Bhargouti, BDS founder, says it refers to Israel, too.
1
There is no current need for a "peace process." There is no active war setting in the West Bank. There is need of a justice process, however. The US ought to abstain from a UN Security Council vote to recognize the 1967 boundaries of the so-called West Bank as the State of Palestine. Then let the negotiations between UN members begin, overseen by the UN designee country. And if the bloody US stays out of it there's hope.
The delay in acting on this issue for 70 years makes it harder every year since.
Who owns land...any land....How far back do you have go to establish land rights ?
Emotions rule the day...every day and leaders, if there are any , have no long term solution.
So, it will go on and on and on.
Israel has made its bed, now it must lie in it. They have made a two-state solution impossible, so now they must deal with an Arab majority in the state that actually exists. Few Americans seem to understand the anger the Arab world feels for the U.S. after the Israelis flouted the peace agreements repeatedly without any condemnation from America. Allowing the West Bank to be extensively settled by Israelis has demonstrated the American position regarding the Palestinians.
To people who were born in a refugee camp to people who were born in the same refugee camp, there is little to lose by expressing their unhappiness, because their lives are miserable right now. Whatever government is in power in the Holy Land will have to deal with that discontent, without inciting a war.
When are people going to recognize that Jerusalem is a city that must be accessible to everyone, no matter what their religion? Supporting any attempts to claim Jerusalem for one group is going to make the American position very treacherous. The U.S. is already viewed as a terrorist nation by many in the Middle East, and we have done little to counter that impression.
3
It took around 400 years for England and Ireland to attempt to solve their problems. Does anyone really expect this 35 year old man with absolutely no experience doing anything except losing a great deal of money to solve this problem? I hate to demean little Jared, but I really don't think he stands a chance.
1
Lets face it -- none of the leaders on either side want peace. None want to construct a win-win solution. Somehow, people (including commenters here) have the strange idea that 'shame' and 'loss of respect' will motivate Israel to change. It wont. Israelis are some of the happiest people in the world, their economy is booming, and they continue to be an important nation in the world, by virtue of their contributions to tech, medicine and beyond. What they want is really what Palestinians do not give them, which is a complete acceptance of Israel as a Jewish majority, Jewish controlled state, and no more hopes to change it into an Arab majority or give its land back to the refugees and their millions of descendants.
But, to the extent that Israel wants the war to end, they need to give the Palestinians pretty much the same thing -- their own state, control, and their majority. But this would require some Palestinians compromise. For example, East Jerusalem must be internationalized, it cannot be 'given back' as a strictly Arab possession. There will need to be land swaps.
Even with this, Palestinians need Israelis more than they seem to say. One solutions needs to be more strongly considered -- a confederation of a Palestinians state, either with Israel, or possibly with Jordan.
One thing for certain: Until this becomes win-win for both sides, no peace is possible. Both sides need leaders willing to have the courage to make the win-win happen
1
Tom you state: " It’s become about everything except what it needs to succeed: courageous, fair-minded, creative diplomacy and leadership." Therein lies the rub, trump is none of that and neither is Netanyahu.
2
"What to do with 2.5 million Palestinians on the west bank? How about some magical thinking?
One state for one people.
Since the land originally bore the two people, in an evolving world they should be able to share the land and its fruits (and water.)
The leveraged buyout will never work. It is inhumane, as has been shown in corporate mergers and acquisitions sowing chaos thoughout the world.
4
There is no diplomatic solution visible. There is only a theoretical military solution imaginable. So the conflict most likely will not be "Solved".
I think if the various Arab leaders actually cared about the Palestinians, a practical compromise would be found. As it is, the Muslim leaders benefit from immiseration of the Palestinians for propaganda, and the Israelis just might benefit from moving the Palestinians up to the middle class.
The mistreatment of the Palestinians in Lebanon and Syria by Hezbollah and the national governments is very educational.
Israel needs to lift its ban of Palestinian political activities within its borders in order to create a 3rd leadership option for the Palestinian people. Currently, Palestinians are being brutally politically repressed which leaves the Palestinians with only the Palestinian Authority and Hamas to lead them. Both of those organizations are not capable of negotiating a peace settlement and are not capable of good government. I agree with the BDS proposal - let the exiled Palestinians come back to their homeland. Let's face it - this land was NEVER exclusively Jewish. It is time to be truly progressive and form the first nation to recognize that it is 2 peoples living together. The first nation with a hyphenated name of 2 peoples and 2 flags. The first nation to go beyond the flawed 1 people, 1 state unrealistic and outdated nation-state system.
1
Weisglass: Disengagement is formaldehyde for peace process
The big freeze
Ari Shavit
Haaretz Magazine 8 October 2004
long interesting interview by Shavit with Dov Weinglass
You gave up the Gaza Strip in order to save the West Bank? Is the Gaza disengagement meant to allow Israel to continue controlling the majority of the West Bank?
"Arik doesn't see Gaza today as an area of national interest. He does see Judea and Samaria as an area of national interest. He thinks rightly that we are still very very far from the time when we will be able to reach final-status settlements in Judea and Samaria."
........."When you say `maneuver,' it doesn't so be no timetable to implement the settlers' nightmare. I have postponed that Because what I effectively agreed to with the Americans was that part of the settlements would not be dealt with at all, and the rest will not be dealt with until the Palestinians turn into Finns. That is the significance of what we did. The significance is the freezing of the political process. And when you freeze that process you prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and you prevent a discussion about the refugees, the borders and Jerusalem. Effectively, this whole package that is called the Palestinian state, with all that it entails, has been removed from our agenda indefinitely.
2
Friedman stated very clearly the reason to support B.D.S., "Begin’s Rhodesia fears will come true" if the world doesn't pressure Israel to treat Palestinians fairly instead of continuing to rely on its overwhelming military power.
2
From the Brits and the Balfour Agreement, also the Sykes-Picot line, the US continues to aid and abet Israel to a degree that condemns the Palestinians to be pushed closer to the edge. Moving Jerusalem was another coup d'etat from Trump and Kushner that further shows Palestine there will no consideration of a two-state solution from current US president. That the dialogue continues with no negotiated and satisfactory for the Palestinians is a cruel "farce" or hoax indeed as Friedman points out.
1
There is a clash between grouped populations. On the one hand Jews have justified paranoia since history shows that the majority populations drove them out or oppressed them. For Palestinians it is having the rights and economic means to sustain themselves on land they have inhabited for centuries.
The issues are change and fear. All seek freedom from harm and want the personal worth that would benefit any living space.
As usual the nut comes down to two themes...governance and an economy that values its participants with respect and sustainability.
Having one nation as Netanyahu seeks is possible. n However it can not be built on cheap labor or a version mimicking slavery. Given the long disputes two specific bodies may ease unity.
The first is a religion department, equally represented to assure practice rights to all. This is enshrined in the US first amendment, but a stronger organ would be needed given the background conflicts in Israel and Palestine.
The second deals with another thorn in the side that perpetuates hard feelings. It could be called a Ministry of Holy Places. All religions, even the non religious would fill positions equally. Too often offensive or arrogant displays over one shrined place or another has ignited violence.
Stop perpetuating the myth. There never was a peace process. It was always a sham. The Palestinians have never intended to agree to peace, to anything but a brief cease-fire, which they quickly violate. Their situation will never change until they give up this position, which will likely only happen when their people rebel, or they lose all the funding they get supporting their position. It's very simple when you boil it all down. The current strategy involves shaming Israel in the media, trying to turn world opinion against Israel, to weaken Israel. Then they will once again attack, with destruction as their goal.
1
Sharon was right. It's all being run by self-serving politicians - Israeli, Palestinian and American. Let's not forget: Tlaib, Omar and AOC are NOT Palestinian freedom fighters. They are American POLITICIANS and, as such, their own careers are paramount.
A great article. I agree that an Israeli PM is virtually the only one who could deliver peace by the unilateral actions Friedman describes. Such an act will require courage in the sense of dealing with the uproar from the Israeli right (most of the country at this point!) Yet, the PM wouldn't be left alone for long. The outpouring of financial and political support from the US and the world would be instant and overwhelming. It will certainly awe the Israeli naysayers. The PM could go from a bigoted pariah to Noble Peace prize candidate almost overnight.
However, the deal would not work if the IDF has any security presence on Palestinian lands. If ever there was a role for US peacekeepers in the Middle East, it's this. Despite how unfair our Congress and current president have been to Palestinians, most of them still like Americans. They would fully cooperate with US GIs; their kids would get candy bars instead of handcuffs and detention without trial.
Lastly, I'm sorry Friedman resorted to quoting Dennis Ross. He has long been an AIPAC darling and pretty much always did Israel's bidding.
Brilliant analysis except that it left out the most ridiculous farce, which is nonetheless a linchpin of the whole mess: the US Congress's abject servitude to AIPAC. Without that carte blanche to Netanyahu and the settler extremists, farce would be seriously threatened on the Israeli side. Without longstanding farce from the Israeli ruling coalition, Palestinian leaders would significantly lose credibility for their farcical longstanding lack of initiative and persisting reluctance to learn from past mistakes.
2
There's simply no hope for the Palestinians. Incompetent, corrupt government(s) facing off against a right-wing Israeli government representing people who are justifiably afraid of terrorism. The Jews will displace the Palestinians over the decades, and Israel will continue to be run with a caste system relegating Arabs to second class citizens. It's an ugly process, but that is what has been happening and what will continue to happen.
My question to Friedman is Since the US hasn't really affected this process in the past 40 years (perhaps only strengthening Israel with military aid), what makes him think the US will affect it in the next 40 years? Why is Israel of such importance to the US that it is isolating itself internationally over Iran? Give that Manifest Destiny-style expatriation and ethnic cleansing are no longer looked kindly upon, the US should just walk away -- it will gain a better standing in the Middle East and Israel will be just fine without them.
1
As long as Netanyahu is in power, the process goes nowhere. If the Israelis are serious about peace, they will need to make a change.
2
Netanyahu has destroyed the two state solution, and he intended to do it. If any future Israeli leader tries to evacuate Israeli settlements from the West Bank to create two states, there will be a Jewish civil war. And without a two state solution, Israel is doomed to perpetual conflict, and Netanyahu is the one who doomed it.
2
Under the guise of so called "peace process" Israel has continued to steal more and land in order to permanently change the demographics on the ground. America and western nations while publicly paying lip service to two state solution have been totally complicit in this farce.
2
If before the UN Partition Palestinians held title to almost 92% of the land and after only 42% of the land, then perhaps they had good reason to be unhappy with the UN Partition. Why not give each side at least 45% of Palestine, each side's land mass contiguous and each with a border on the Mediterranean Sea (the new Palestinian state's border would be Gaza), and then make Jerusalem an international city with the possibility of each respective capital in the suburbs outside the walled city, Israel’s in West Jerusalem and Palestine’s in East Jerusalem. Also, allow no right of return, but then the Palestinians would have enough land to accommodate their refugees. It would look like two "L's" hugging each other. The Palestinians would accept such an agreement in a heartbeat, and Palestinian radicals would slowly wither on the vine. Let Israel have the only weapons for say 50 years and make Palestine a protected UN mandate for 50 years, protected internally with just a police force. Then Palestinian fathers would tell their teenage sons: “Finally, we have a fair settlement, it is time to make peace and start to build a new Palestine.” Now that's a solution. To give the Palestinians 22% (when they started out with 92% of the entire country in 1947) is not fair and would probably never be accepted in the long run (if it were somehow implemented by Palestinian leaders, violence would break out again in a few years), let alone 92% of 22%, which was the agreement under Clinton.
2
Kushner, the amateur, hasn’t released his plan. Perhaps he hasn’t done so because he has no plan.
In the absence of a resolution of the Arab Jewish conflict, which commenced in April 1920 in Jerusalem, it is high time the international community ceased attempting to bypass the three fundamental elements of international law related to the conflict and the way to resolve it:
1. San Remo conference decisions, 1920
2. League of Nations, Mandate for Palestine, decision, 1922
3. UN Charter, article 80, 1945
Also, it is useful to Google and view "Palestine map, 1920" in order to appreciate the above three elements of international law.
The international community ought to demand that Palestine/Land of Israel is split between the Arabs and the Jews; 77% of it to the Arabs in what is now the independent Palestinian Arab state of Jordan; and, 23% of it to the Jews in what the international community etched into international law, including the UN charter "the national home of the Jewish people".
It is not entirely clearly to me why intellectually honest people refuse to accept this partition and expect that the parties adhere to it.
1
Time to admit that there is no solution. Israel, however necessary to Jew fleeing pogroms could not exist without displacing the settlers. The process is conceptually similar to that used in the US to displace the native Indians. Can a solution be developed? I doubt it. Unlike the Indians in the US who are a tiny minority, the non Jews would become the majority if incorporated. And the history of Israel's story to itself included denial with slogans like "a land with no people for a people with no land" or continual denial that "Palestinians" are a people.
So now what? Israel won't slaughter them but it keeps them in jail.
If they do make positive changes at all, it will take decades for those changes to be absorbed. In the meantime, Israel's conservatives rely on conservatives who seem as racist as could be.
2
I a not a fan of Netanyahu but one must admit he has kept Israel safe. No more bombings at weddings and pizza shops. No more bus attacks. What he has lost is the PR battle because of continued building in the West Bank and pandering to the far right, intolerant Israelis. It always amazes me that neighboring countries keep Palestinians in a perpetual refugee state but it is Israel’s fault. Four generations of Palestinians live in refugee camps in Lebanon without the right of citizenship but it’s the Israel’s fault. The Egyptians don’t allow free passage to the Sinai to Gaza residents but it’s the Israelis fault. And no one, ever talks about the displacement of Jews from most Arab nations after WW2. Israel didn’t just need to take in European Jews but became a homeland for the Jews displaced from countries they had lived in for thousands of years. The memory of what happened in this region is very selective with Israel as the only bogeyman. Everyone conveniently forgets how many times they were attacked. Make Jerusalem and independent neutral state and move the UN there. Give back the West Bank. Let the settlers stay but they will be ruled by the new government of Palestine. Let the Arabs workout whether or not they become one state, including the West Bank and Gaza or two. And stop blaming the only democracy in the region for all the ills. In Israel women can drive, people aren’t stoned to death for adultery, gay rights are respected. Should I go on?
3
I don't wish to be argumentative but as a matter of historical fact wasn't the historic homeland of the Jewish people what we now call the West Bank? At present mostly inhabited by Palestinians.
Isn't this what the settler movement says?
And is it true? Or false?
if security really is the central issue then should greater Israel from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River become a US state? Why not?
In 1948, the United Nations approved the partitioning of British Palestine into Israel, Palestine, and an independent Jerusalem overseen by an international coalition. The US and the Soviet Union both endorsed this plan.
David Ben-Gurion issued the Israeli Declaration of Independence on May 14, 148, and a coalition of Arab states—Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq—invaded British Palestine on May 15. Czechoslovakia, aided by France, was a crucial source of arms for the Israelis, who won a decisive victory despite being underequipped.
Since then, Israel’s Arab neighbors have engaged in successive military incursions, with the same result—more lost territory for the Arab states.
What happened to the adage, “to the victor belong the spoils?” Why, after Israel is repeatedly forced to defend itself against Arab aggression, is the nation cast as a bully?
Netanyahu and his supporters have embarked on old-fashioned territorialism through human settlement and reproduction. Palestine would be best off as a state of Israel so that its citizens can benefit from Israeli governance.
America’s historical relationship to Mexico is instructive. The Mexican-American War and the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ceded California, Texas, and vast swaths of the American West to the US while giving Mexicans the option of becoming American citizens or relocating to “Mexico.”
The US government and the Texas Rangers are not about to return this land any time soon.
Trump has his eyes on Greenland.
...and we had a twelve-year-old nepotistic child acting as a "negotiator". He negotiated all right - for building a Trump/Kushner real estate project, not peace.
This is the level of our government's function in almost all areas - if not infantile then hostile, bullying and criminal. Universally incompetent and uncivilized.
The adults have left the room, or rather been ejected by Trump. There will be no lasting anything except chaos as long as he is in office.
2
Interesting that your article, Mr. Friedman, is all about Israel and Israeli politicians and nothing about "Palestinians" and "Palestinian" politicians. Is that because the only side which actually discusses issues and alternatives is the Israeli side. The "Palestinian" side is only concerned with one thing: ridding the area of Jews. (and I put "Palestinian" in quotes only because before 1965 "Palestinian" was a term describing Jews in the area.)
2
It is unfortunate that the Israeli government was never willing to discuss the Arab peace plan.
1
Thomas Friedman writes, "The only hope I see is for the emergence of an Israeli leader ready to boldly make a unilateral — but coordinated — separation from the West Bank." Typically, Friedman does not see any hope or any expectation that a Palestinian leader could emerge that would advocate for any manner of peace. Or, moreover, one that could have a future Palestine carved out of Judea and Samaria that includes 105K Jews living in it along with 2.5M Palestinian-Arabs. Perhaps this small Jewish minority in "Palestine" could have the right to vote and participate in a strong democracy. Y'know, like the 2 million arabs that live in present day "within the green line Israel".
Why is the idea of having a Palestinian leader that champions peace so improbable and unthinkable? Why must there be a Israeli leader that somehow creates peace on his or her own? It boggles the mind.
2
The only Palestinian that I know always replies "one state" when asked which option he prefers. He was studying in the US when the 67 war broke out and was not allowed back in. His two brothers were in Germany and France and the same thing happened to them.
A religious state, dominated by one religion, may be incompatible with democracy. I don't want to live in one where religion plays any part in politics. We seem to be headed that way.
1
I expressed my view a few days ago on these pages that the solution to the Israel-Palestinian difficulties will be a federated autonomous province of Palestine under the sovereignty of the State of Israel. This, I believe, can be analogous to the Province of Quebec in the Dominion of Canada and can offer much promise for all. I also expressed my view that the judgment of history will deem the durable leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu more sound than the ongoing criticism of Thomas Friedman. When Friedman writes of the need for "courageous, fair-minded, creative diplomacy," it seems clear that he considers that aim an embodiment of himself and the antithesis of Netanyahu. I beg to differ. I assume that Friedman, from my inferences from his writings, might consider his own popularity on college campuses and his garnerings of 4000-plus readers' comments on his NYT columns to represent his relative standing in the world vis-a-vis Netanyahu's. The very opposite reality of Netanyahu's electoral strength in Israel gives the lie to such possible bravado. The Zionism which I espouse would indeed be "courageous, fair-minded, and diplomatically creative" if Israel had a partner for peace. That Zionism, which is not a dirty word for me, is predicated on the premise that Israel and the Jewish People have a strong will and the right and wisdom to exercise it without being dictated to by well-meaning outsiders who don't really know as much as they think they do.
Give it up. There has never been, or ever will be, a peaceful solution.
2
As always, Tom Friedman is harshest against Israelis and requires scant accountability from the Palestinians. Nowhere in his comment does he mention the critical history behind negotiations. At every step that Israel offered a two state solution, the Palestinians have rejected it (that includes the States founding in 1948, King David negotiations between Barak and Arafat in 2000, Olmert's more-than-generous overtures of 2006-08, and in the President Obama years when Israel accepted Secretary of State Kerry's proposition for a starting point to peace and Palestinians flatly rejected it.
Nor does Friedman mention the continued support and use of Palestinian terrorism, which both Hamas supports in terrorist action and the Palestinian Authority Supports by paying stipends to jailed terrorists.
So, as always Friedman's focus is on harshly criticizing Israeli's and scarcely commenting on Palestinian intransigence. The result is a lopsided editorial sure to spark more criticism on the left.
3
Inch-by-inch, history is being re-written. Friedman writes "the Palestinians also have not put any detailed two-state peace plan on the table," cleverly not mentioning the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 (still on the table, 2002, 2007, 2017) that did just that. Please note: everybody signed on: Iran, Hamas, Hizbullah, Fatah, Saudi Arabia. Sharon rejected it.
It is true this is a large mess, but who has had all the power for 65 years, for 100 years? Certainly not the Palestinians.
It has been said that "If the Palestinians are given a choice of surrender or suicide, they might choose suicide." Therein lies the real problem for Israel.
2
When Mr. Friedman points out:
"As such, the pro-B.D.S. progressives — who do not distinguish between boycotting Israeli products from occupied territories and boycotting the idea of a Jewish state — have no plan or real Israeli partner."
The BDS website offers further clarification in its FAQ section, where, in response to the question "Does BDS call for a boycott of the whole of Israel or just the illegal settlements?" it states, in part:
"...We also call for a boycott of all Israeli universities, because they are implicated, to various degrees, in the design, implementation, justification, or whitewash of Israel's crimes against Palestinians."
Yet, Arab (mostly Palestinian) students accounted for 16.1% of undergraduate students in Israeli universities, while in graduate programs, the percentage of Arab students is 13% and in postgraduate programs, the proportion of Arab students is 6.3%.
The obvious question then is, if BDS claims are valid, why are not Palestinians boycotting Israeli universities?
It seems that the BDS calls for boycotts are stronger among Democrats here than Palestinian youth in Israel.
1
"The only hope I see is for the emergence of an Israeli leader ready to boldly make a unilateral — but coordinated — separation from the West Bank in the way that Ariel Sharon made a unilateral — but uncoordinated — withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005"
But that move by Sharon was supported by large swaths of the Israeli public, who were eager for peace, and were tired of seeing their soldiers killed in or near Gaza. After Sharon's move was met by increased violence by the Palestinians, the Israeli public has no appetite for another unilateral withdrawal.
What is needed now is not the emergence of a risk-oriented Israeli leader. Rather, what has always been needed is a Palestinian version of Sadat: someone who is willing to tell his own people that the Israelis are not going anywhere, and that the Palestinians would be better off taking half a loaf, with a good neighbor next door, than no loaf and an enemy next door.
3
The Peace plan is and has been a delaying tactic so that the "settlers " could continue to steal land under the supervision of the government and military.
The Israeli do not want to give back the land they took and continue to take and the Palestininans have no control over their government or people. They are divided geographically and politically .
The real question is , WHY HAS THE USA SPENT 7 TRILLION IN A REGION WE SHARE NO BORDER WITH ? When will it stop? Not with the Criminal Trump at the helm.
2
If Friedman is correct, as I believe he is, that there is no Palestinian Peace partner, then what if not "magical thinking" does his idea that Netanyahu should propose a plan to save the peace plan. In the real world, this would be viewed as negotiating against yourself.
Why does Friedman take for granted that for there to be peace, the Jordanian ethnic cleansing of all Jewish communities from the lands of the former Mandate for Palestine must be re-established? That seems not only a harsh result, but one that would effectively gut much international human rights law. Why would anything Jordan's illegal belligerent occupation set a baseline for anything - and that should include the "West Bank" coinage whose purpose was to erase the Jewish history to the lands even the UN in 1947 referred to as "Judea and Samaria."
As far as peace goes, every realist understands why Abbas (and Arafat before him) never uttered the phrase "two states for two people." They deny that the Jewish people are a true people and that they have any rights (historical or otherwise) to govern over any lands that had at any time been conquered by Muslims. It’s still in the PLO Charter. That is the mindset that requires changing - and there’s nothing any Israeli leader not interested in national suicide can do to change it. It is an issue that only the Arab side to resolve, yet the West continues to give them a pass it and then wonders why no progress toward peace is being made.
1
The “Two State” settlement as an idea is dead. John Kerry’s last speech about it was in effect a eulogy for its demise. Neither side wants it. It’s a fig leaf talking point to cover up true intentions which of course is a one state solution. The only question to be decided is about what rights will be conferred to the Palestinians if any. It will take another 100 years and large demographic shifts before a true “settlement” is haggled out with much suffering in the mean time. I see no light at the end of this tunnel.
42
I didn't know that there was a division between the Palestinians, themselves. That makes things a lot more complicated as though it's not complicated enough. I don't see Kushner having in mind anything beneficial for a peaceful resolution where they, themselves don't want a peaceful resolution. Kushner is in it for the money from what I perceive. I don't see him as a strong negotiator......like Trump, he's had more failures than successes,
2
Excuse me, but wasn't this another one of those issues that Donald said would be easy? Like trade wars?
4
Ultimately only the Israelis and Palestinians are the only ones who can settle this situation. The US is at it's best when it can act as mediator between the two, but the plan must be theirs. Unfortunately, Trump has destroyed all possibility of the US being a mediator for the duration of his term.
A mediator must, as much as possible, stand in the gap showing no or minimal favoritism. Yet, Trump appointed his son-in-law, a conservative Jew and personal friend of Netanyahu to the process, then appointed a man with deep history of support for the settlements as ambassador. Mr. Kushner may be a well-intentioned young man, but the optics hardly say that he will be or could be evenhanded.
No doubt Trump's narcissism is playing a key role in his belief that he is the only President who can solve this issue. However, plans conceived and presented from without have failed again and again. At best, only impartial assistance to the two parties encouraging them to solve their own problem has even a possibility of success.
1
The Israeli/Palestinian peace process has been a farce since Israel's founding in 1948.
War after war has been fought over the issue, and the Arab states, in spite of their being thrashed on the battlefield, continue to evade making peace in some of the most irrational ways ever seen in the art of diplomacy.
Is Mr. Friedman, after his long association with the subject as a distinguished journalist, just coming to this realization.
I suspect that were the Palestinians of the Hamas stripe willing to negotiate and ABIDE by an agreement, a lasting peace could be achieved.
3
It appears to me that the two-state solution has been dead in the water for a long time - maybe since the first wave of Israeli settlers began colonizing the West Bank on the strength of a biblical “deed”. Friedman blames everybody for this but I - recognizing Israel as an ally in a very volatile region - put the blame squarely on the occupying power. Israel wants Palestinian land is taking it, and what’s left of Palestine (and Gaza) is effectively under a harsh quarantine. Violence is a natural and expected result of this arrangement.
7
In the wake of the Balfour Declaration, made by Arthur Balfour as Prime Minister following WWI, which called for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, the British government commissioned a "White Paper", essentially a report, to study the problem. That report's conclusion still resonates today. As to the positions of the parties involved, namely the Palestinian Arabs and the Jewish settlers, the report stated that this was a "Fundamental problem of right against right." That conclusion was reached nearly a century ago, and it is as valid now as it was then. When I look at the people now in charge of making decisions on the matter- Trump, Netanyahu, and Abbas- I despair of any progress being made whatsoever. Any solution is way over their heads.
4
According to both President Clinton and Dennis Ross, who were there, the 2000 negotiations foundered not on the settlements, but on the issue of sovereignty over the Temple Mount and the status of the descendants of those who left what became Israel in 1948-9. Israel prefers the status quo over relinquishing sovereignty over the Temple Mount back to the Arabs who barred Jews from worship there, or a "return" of those descendants to Israel proper in a way that will shift the demographic balance of Israel in 30 years and make it yet another Jewish-minority state. When Friedman and the Arabs make workable proposals on the Temple Mount and the "right of return," peace can come. If they don't, the status quo is a better alternative. Clinton and Ross tried everything on those issues, and the Palestinians didn't agree. Nor does the vaunted "Saudi plan" show a better alternative.
5
So, Friedman "admits" the problem might have something to do with the settlers who have moved beyond the understood barrier to reside deep within the West Bank. Yeah, interesting. I have very strong views about the ugly mess Mr. Friedman writes about, but I would dare not share them here because they would not appear. I am fairly certain most Palestinian youth today feel that ALL Israelis are trespassing on their ancestral land. One must weigh that sentiment against a people who can produce such outstanding inventions such as the "LiveU" which is a cell phone on steroids that TV networks use to send sound and picture via cell technology. But Mr. Friedman's detailed analysis of the deep settlements is the main thing and he stresses the immediacy of the need to come to grips with it. I can't help but view the situation in some ways similar to the way Trump treats Central Americans or working class Americans, for that matter.
It is a cruel fact to many, but there is no Palestine. There is no nation state. There is no nation which has East Jerusalem as its capitol. There is no nation which holds a seat at the United Nations. The United Nations does not recognize any land called Palestine.
Whether there ever will be a Palestine, with a capitol, with established borders, sitting in the United Nations, recognized by the other countries, is yet to happen. But it will. I have faith that wise men, and women, will make this happen.
2
Israel is just as real as Palestine so by your logic there should be no Israel
1
History has exhausted the various schemes for accommodating people who refuse to live in harmony with their neighbors. Segregation, partitioning, and genocide create prolonged strife, not peace and stability.
The notion of a exclusively Jewish state in a portion of the legendary Jewish homeland is as preposterous as the legend that the God of Creation chose one ethnic group to be privileged over all others.
However, the notion of a state where members of a persecuted ethnicity can settle and prosper is perfectly reasonable. The United States, which is homeland to half the world's ethnic Jews, is such a state. The immense contributions of Jewish-Americans to American society and culture, and their personal prosperity and accomplishments, is unquestionable.
The attempt to create an exclusively Jewish state in the former British Protectorate of Palestine has failed. The "Palestinian Problem" grows by the day. The Israeli state has a large Palestinian minority. Millions of Palestinians displaced by Jewish immigration reside in Israeli-occupied territory and refugee camps in Arab countries.
The solution is not partition or segregation, but a compromise between Israeli arrogance with Palestinian resentment, to create a homeland for the legendary children of Abraham.
8
Why doesn't Israel push into Jordan and take their land, too? It's because Jordan has an army. The Palestinians don't have proper weapons, thus, the Israeli army takes their land at will. You want peace? Arm the Palestinians to the teeth. The Israelis will come to the bargaining table with a sincerity we've never seen before.
11
@Dino
You either are ignoring or lack historical knowledge.
The land was part of Jordan prior to 1967 and Israel was attacked by the Jordanian army and the Israelis won.
They would win any war they would fight with Jordan.
The reason they don't attack them is not the reason you give.
Israel has no history of aggression against its neighbors but they do have a history defending themselves in battle and taking advantage of the situation they did not create.
If you gave the Palestinians weapons and they decided to use them in the way you suggest then you would be giving the Israelis the right to fight back and destroy the movement you want to help.
2
@Dino, actually, when the Gazans melt their rockets and weapons into pruning-hooks, and build liberal schools instead of attack tunnels, a bargain between Israel/Gaza/Egypt (which also has a sealed border with Gaza) can be struck that returns the P.A. to Gaza, and then to an overall deal.
3
@Dino
Israel "took" the West Bank in a defensive war. And for the past 50 years the occupants of that area have refused to accept 90% of the territory in exchange for peace. Just wanted to add a little context.
3
The only lasting optin is a one state solution where the parties trust each and work together... that is a long way off and takes true courage.
1
I am reading this stuff about the Israeli-Palestinian relationship since 1967, when I was 13 years old.
Nothing has changed since. Both people hate each other still and even more than back in 1967. It won't end well, for neither ot them.
Begin’s Rhodesia fears have come true. Any fact-based analysis demonstrates it when you have a majority population trapped without citizenship rights, distinct legal systems, self-defense, etc. Also, the concept of "historic land" is ethnic nationalism plain and simple. History in Palestine includes many diverse peoples through the millennia. The idea that only a single race and religion has priority over others is racism. The magical thinking and doublespeak has been on the part of Friedman and the overwhelming majority of the US media and political establishment (though not the people): you cannot be anti-racist and defend that Palestinians can be trapped in separated "homelands" without full citizenship rights.
222
@Luis Rocha
Well meaning, but simplistic to the point of irrelevance. You have two peoples who each have some legitimate claims to indigenous status ( a controversial statement in and of itself which many Zionists do not accept...). Significant numbers of people and powerful political leaders in both groups do not accept the legitimacy of the other’s claims. We’re the tables turned, there is no doubt that Jews would be oppressed by Palestinian dominators. Does that mean that each groups’ national aspirations—even if rooted in part by religion— are inherently racist? Poppycock— just ask yourself if the Tibetan desire for an autonomous region in China controlled Tibet based on their history is racist? It is not. What would be racist— and what is racist in Israel— are state policies that treat individuals of different ethnic and religious backgrounds unequally. Thus, the national aspirations of Jews are not, as you state, inherently racist. Like it or not, Judaism is a culture, a people, a shared tradition even more that it is a religion. The whopping majority of Jewish Israeli’s are secular.
18
@Luis Rocha
Why do anti Israeli types always rage against one Jewish state but stay utterly quiet about 22 Arab states in the region?
21
Because we don't pay for the bullets they use to maintain control. But your underlying point is correct, the U.S. should not be snuggling up to MBS or Mubarak either.
13
When all else fails, read the instructions. There is only one viable road map for an agreement, if and when there are leaders who want one--the Clinton Parameters.
3
It may be a good idea to get us Americans fully up-to-speed on what is going on with Israel's budding oil and gas industry to put a lot of this stuff in context.
Israel over the past ten years has become the latest middle east hydrocarbon gas and gas liquids producer. Not much oil yet. Israel's Leviathan offshore field alone is presently estimated at around 21 trillion cubic feet, which will presumably be proved larger in time as more petroleum geology data comes in. Pennsylvania's Marcellus and Utica shale fields presently have about 90 trillion cubic feet in proved reserves for a comparison.
Israel shares the giant gas fields in eastern Mediterranean is with Egypt, Lebanon, Cyprus, Seria and now Greece apparently. Israel presently has a deal with Egypt to sell gas. It hopes Europe may become another buyer soon. Who knows, maybe Israel could brand its liquified natural gas and sell it with a generous markup to eager Americans using value added religious language. Something like, "The gas you're cooking with answers to a higher authority."
Gaza sits along the coast, which in theory would give the Palestinians rights or at least a share of royalties to offshore gas. I wonder how that's going.
3
Menachem Begin, no shrinking violet when it came to the use of force to accomplish what he wanted, was willing to publicly acknowledge that the State of Israel had to resolve the political status of the Palestinians.
Ariel Sharon, by pulling the settlers out of Gaza, then building a separation wall on West Bank territory that carved out Palestinian land that Israel could claim as theirs, thereby enlarging the state of Israel in a minor way, plus the expansion of certain Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the table was set for the eventual political independence of the Palestinians. With Sharon's premature death, we can only speculate what might have occurred before Bibi and his political opportunism took over.
36
@DonD
I agree with your assessment, but I would put it into further context.
The rise in Netanyahu and right wing politics grew to formidable strength in response to Arafat's suicide bombings, Hamas in Gaza, and complete rejection of acceptance of a Jewish state of Israel by the Palestinians. In essence, the hopelessness of the peace process because of the failure of Palestinian leadership.
So sad.
10
@DonD. You ignore Palestinian rejection of statehood and peace in 1948, 2000, 2001, 2008, and 2014. You also ignore that Gaza is run by a terror group by choice of its inhabitants.
9
But it was Begin who made peace with Egypt and returned the Sinai to Egyptian control.
3
Peace will only come to the area when the Palestinian people outright reject and overthrow Hamas and Hezbollah. These two organizations, one elected into power, call for nothing less than the total annihilation of Israel. Just look at the Palestinian Charter, especially section 22. Peace can not be achieved when only one side is willing to take the steps toward it.
11
@Rescue2 Hezbollah are not Palestinian
1
The only fair, democratic solution that will work at this point is a binational state, but the devil will be in the details. It must not encourage a race for a democratic majority. Therefore, an agreement to provide parity for the two populations in decision-making regardless of the numbers in their population might be better rather than encouraging proportional representation. See parityforpeace.org for a possible solution. This plan calls for two states with identical borders--everyone would have access to all parts of mandate Palestine, governance would be shared 50-50. Others call this a binational state, but calling it two states might make it more palatable.
1
@Esther Riley Such a sane and plausible solution must have inherent defects, which are not obvious to me. The biggest, probably, intractable racial and religious hatred.
Tom there is no 'farce' nor 'magical thinking' in the peace process in 2019. Facts on the ground now show that decades of Palestinian intransigence have created the result, i.e. there will be one state. Hundreds of thousands of settlers in Judea and Samaria are not going anywhere. Israel progresses on all fronts, economically, militarily and otherwise, while Hamas and the PA turn on themselves. No BDS efforts abroad will affect the result. Jared Kushner and his two U.S. colleagues deserve great credit for their herculean efforts towards the only viable path forward for Palestinians, economic progress supported by Arab states. Whining of the few who still dream of a two state solution don't advance this fantasy.
3
There will be no successful peace plan, because are long as the US gives Israel its unequivocal support, Israel no incentive.
Of course Mr Friedman is right that the Palestinian governments (if you could call them that) preside over failed States in the West Bank and Gaza, but I would ask him how he would go about creating a successful State in either of those territories, under the conditions dictated by Israel.
It should also be remembered that the war which allowed Israel to control those territories was a war of conquest, initiated by Israel.
5
At least since WW2, the entire world has rejected the idea of forceful annexation of territory, and of military occupation. Yet we have witnessed 70 years of it, and US has protected Israel for these actions in the UN for decades. It is the US that must step aside, and let the world settle this, likely along the 1967 borders.
5
UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 (which Israel had helped draft) which provided for "withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent [1967] conflict" in exchange for peace and security.
Those resolutions represented official US and international policy at the time they were approved, and they still do.
5
The solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is well-known, is acceptable to the West and the to rest of the world, is consistent with official decades-old US foreign policy, is consistent with UN Resolutions and international law, is consistent with the principles laid out by the Quartet, and is consistent with the proposal put forward by the Arab League.
It is what the world demands and what Israel refuses to accept:
2 viable states; 1967 boundaries with mutually agreed land swaps, right of return negotiated using both (limited) property and (fair) compensation.
It comes down to what Netanyahu & Co. wants vs what the rest of the world needs
9
Ross seems to be the turn to person for anyone wanting to find a way to believing that some scraps from the Oslo process might be made relevant. But Ross's legacy is 25 years of failed negotiations and process that led not to two states but deeper entrenchment of the occupation. Why in the world should anyone listen to Ross as regards what is needed to bring change. In no other situation does failure make one a go to expert, and repeatedly returning to the same failures is a key reason why the peace process never worked.
3
The choice facing Israel is between following Benjamin Netanyahu, thereby becoming a pariah in the community of nations, or rejecting Netanyahu by providing an autonomous state for Palestinians.
Thomas Friedman chooses to believe that the newly elected Muslim women calling for Boycott, Divest and Sanction (B.D.S.) are actually calling for the elimination of Israel, as far-fetched as that may seem.
Forget that scenario, because it is as irrelevant as the failures of the Palestinian Authority to participate in negotiations and the secret plans of the over-matched Jared Kushner for a buyout and the insulting assumption by Donald Trump that American Jews have a first loyalty to Israel and a secondary loyalty to the United States.
There is no one-state solution. As much as Mr. Friedman may ridicule as a “golden oldie” the idea of a two-state solution, now apparently only urged by Democrats, that is absolutely the only choice.
It is two-state or no state for the Palestinians. It may suit the corrupt political needs of Netanyahu and Trump to push for the latter, but to do so will be the end of Israel as a respected and relevant voice in the region.
118
@sdw. Like so many other commentators you ignore Palestinian rejection of statehood and peace in 1948, 2000, 2001, 2008, and 2014. Perhaps Palestinianism is an annhilationist movement first -- ethnic cleanse Jews from the Levant then "Palestine".
17
@sdw
The goal of BDS is the destruction of Israel.
Omar Barghouti, founder of BDS, says, "definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No Palestinian, rational Palestinian, not a sell-out Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state,"
Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Risrieq, publicly heaping praise on BDS advocates and activists admitting that the ultimate goal of the BDS campaign was to destroy Israel; "We call for escalating the campaign to isolate the occupation and end the existence of its usurper entity."
Ronnie Kasrils. South African Communist and self-hating Jew. Leading member of BDS-South Africa, that invited a convicted Palestinian terrorist to help them fund-raise; "BDS represents three words that will help bring about the defeat of Zionist Israel and victory for Palestine."
Ahmed Mor BDS leader and writer; Ending the occupation doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t mean upending the Jewish state itself...BDS does mean the end of the Jewish state."
John Spritzler. BDS ideologue; "I think the BDS movement will gain strength from forthrightly explaining why Israel has no right to exist."
As'ad Abu Khalil, Professor of political science, anarchist and BOS leader in California. "The real aim of BDS is to bring down the State of Israel."
19
@m1945
The only thing surprising about your list of people who vouch that the B.D.S. squad seeks the destruction of Israel is that there are not more names listed.
Hot rhetoric is endemic to the Middle East, and exaggeration is expected. Donald Trump would fit right in. Benjamin Netanyahu does fit right in.
These views are irrelevant, because to reasonable people throughout the world and in Israel, the only way Israel survives as a democratic nation is by adopting a two-state solution.
2
Once again there's one critical element missing from this analysis, the idea that the Palestinians should take any responsibility for the lack of peace. They continue to refuse to negotiate. And if Netanyahu's goal is annexation of the West bank, which I don't believe it is, why don't the Palestinians call his bluff. Come to the table, offer a two State solution and put the onus on the Israeli's.
9
One-State is the only solution Israel will accept.
The question is what to do with the 2.5 million (more likely 3 million) Palestinians in the West Bank. When added to the 2 million Israeli-Arabs in Israel proper and given their higher birth rate (and faster population growth), it appears that giving rights to palestinians is a political non-starter. Imagine an Israeli-Arab PM.
Begin's Rhodesia analogy is the status quo.
I fear what the next phase is for Palestinians. I would be ashamed if the arms used to achieve it say "Made in USA".
But given how Israelis covet Judea and Samaria, I don't see another solution.
63
@havnaer
Hard to believe your assertion that Israel will only accept a one state solution. The status quo is not the Rhodesia analogy, the status quo is the present: doing nothing until the next crisis presents itself. Any forward thinking Israeli has to accept that assuming three million Palestinians into the diaspora must entail the granting of democratic rights, and thus the risk of losing political control. And that would never be accepted. So the 'non starter' is not the refusal to grant rights, it is instead the idea of allowing millions of Palestinians to become a part of Israel. Israel cannot accept an Arab leader, nor can it accept the future of being branded an apartheid state. Some form of a two state solution, whereby Palestinians are voting citizens of their own country, is the only possible path forward. It may not be viable now, but one day it will have to be.
16
@havnaer
What Israel will accept is not independent of what the U.S. insists upon.
Obama never had the intestinal fortitude to insist that Israel halt further settlement activity. That sent the message that the U.S. would not stand in the way of Israel's right wing creating a fait accompli. It is obviously much worse under Trump.
With the continued threat of Palestinian attacks hanging over their head, U.S. acquiescence made it almost impossible for centrist Israelis to continue advocating for a two-state solution. But that does not mean that Israel could not be brought back to some sort of two-state solution if it becomes clear that the U.S. will not accept annexation.
6
@havnaer "One-State is the only solution Israel will accept." Unfortunately, it appears just in the last couple of days that the Palestinian authorities will also only accept one way, one way of living -- they're cracking down on LGBTQ folks as somehow "not Palestinian." The Israelis have already shown themselves to be not exactly inclusive of anybody but themselves, but now the PA shows a similar intolerance by saying gays are somehow not "real" Palestinians. What am I to think? Should I support the PA which will arrest and persecute gays? I think not. The PA has lost my support. Not that I have swung to the Israeli side -- the far-right Israelis deserve the PA as much as the PA deserves Israeli policy. A curse on both their houses, perhaps? Let the PA show tolerance and then maybe they will gain my support again. Until then, forget PA talk of "human rights." They are as bad as their opponents.
J
2
I could be wrong, but I have always though Sharon made a calculation that giving up Gaza would ensure Israel would not have to give up the West Bank. Gaza was not so important, and since Israel departed, the chaos has seemed to confirm that giving up more (ie the West Bank) would be wrong. That chaos was easily predicted from the policies Israel implemented for Gaza. The West Bank is very important, and I believe there are very few Israelis who will ever give it up. That ship has sailed; better prepare for the coming annexation of the West Bank.
48
@wnhoke
Annexation of the West Bank with its millions of Palestinians could reduce Israel's Jews to minority status.
Religious minorities don't do well in the Middle East. Annexation of just Area C which has only 300,000 Palestinians would make more sense.
1
@wnhoke
and ironically, very little of the lowlands of today's israel is the 'holy' land in terms of the jewish bible...they took what is in effect canaan...
1
@wnhoke, Actually, Sharon, the most militaristic, aggressive leader of Israel, decided near the end of his life that he wanted to be the one who would be known as the leader who moved Israel and the Muslim Palestinians to a 2-State solution. The Israeli move out of Gaza was to be the first step. If Sharon was actually sincere about this, his severe stroke was one of the worst things that ever happened in the long and sad tragedy of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
3
The problem is even if Kushner has a plan, the Trump administration, like the previous administrations, has no credibility to be a mediator in the conflict. And therefore the plan, like the precedent ones will be dead on arrival.
2
Is Israel/ Palestine likely to be an issue in US presidential elections? We know where Trump stands: firmly in favor of whatever Bibi or his successor decides. Are Democratic candidates going to take a position? Or are they more likely to take the non-position that the status of Palestine and Palestinians is for the parties to decide? Without strong US leadership, there will be no solution.
2
Actually there is a Palestinian plan. It's a two state solution in which Palestinians gain control of their legal 1967 borders and swap some West Bank territory to Israel in exchange for a corridor that links Gaza and the West Bank. That plan has the merit of being consistent with international law, while Israel's position is absolutely not. Secondly many Palestinians are in favor of greater Palestine becoming a whole country with equal rights for both peoples.
The problem is that as long as the United States supports whatever Israel does and blocks any attempt to address the issues in the UN Security Council, Israel will continue to seize more and more Palestinian territory. Until the United States takes an even-handed approach to the conflict there is no hope for peace.
498
@Tom Barrett that's not a plan. Something along these lines was offered to the Palestinians in 2000 and Arafat said no. The sticking points were the old city of Jerusalem with its holy sites (both sides want it, no one wants to divide it) and the return of refugees and their descendants. Another sticking point is security for Israel. I recommend this article: https://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2017/04/do-palestinians-want-a-two-state-solution/
32
@Tom Barrett Except, while you think that is reasonable, the Palestinians are not actually aboard with that plan. The Palestinians already rejected a two state model quite emphatically. Their goal is still one state under their control. Both the Palestinians and the Israelis have proven that they are both unwilling to actually adopt any two state plan. Your solution assumes false premises.
33
@Tom Barrett The plan was rejected for a reason, not simply out of hand.
The issue was the transport road from one location to another would allow terrorists to get deep into a very small country.No one is required to cut their own throat for peace
Now you can explain why the offer in 77 and then with Clinton and Ehud Barak of statehood WAS rejected out of hand by the Pals leader. Arafat hid in his room until the opportunity passed.
Was Arafat afraid of being assassinated like Sadat for daring to make peace?
29
The elephant in the room, which everyone is studiously ignoring, is the climate crisis. Here is a link a page in the website of the Israeli government's Ministry of Environmental protection which summarizes anticipated effects on Israel.
http://www.sviva.gov.il/English/env_topics/climatechange/Pages/PotentialImpactOnIsrael.aspx
Who will get access to scarce resources as, for example, freshwater aquifers are salinated by rising seas? Who will have access to the energy needed to operate cooling systems? How will agricultural practices have to change, and what resources will be needed to make those changes? What are the implications for a two-state solution if one state has nearly all of the capital, and possibly the groundwater, depending on where the boundaries are drawn?
Nature has no respect for borders drawn by humans. It may be hard to imagine, but things are about to get much more complicated.
8
Tom, you claim that a unilateral withdrawal may be the only solution, as Israel did with Gaza. However, all Israel has received from that is thousands of rockets from Gaza fired at Israeli Citizens, their homes and schools. And still, Israel bashers continue to claim Israel does not allow goods into Gaza, despite allowing thousands of tons of food and aid in daily. They also ignore that Egypt is equally responsible.
What we need is an ideological change in Palestinian education and leadership, a society that truly wants peace and a society that respects all people.
9
We will see. Cuomo and Sherrod Brown are convinced Trump is certain to be re-elected, and I suspect Israel will look very different in 2024.
Think how you would scenario peace in Israel.
First, you would overthrow the old regime in Saudi Arabia and put in a modernizer who did not live for supporting rebels in Syria-Iraq. Trump's first guest in the WH was the leader of Turkey, and Arabia was the first country he visited.
Second, you would have to solve the Syrian mess where Obama and Hillary created--and probably deliberately--a lose-lose situation. Either Iran and Hezbollah would be forced to stay or utter chaos would ensue if Assad were overthrown.That has been solved with the alliance with Putin.
Third, Iran has few interests on the Mediterranean, and major interests in lower Iraq, Farshi-speaking Afghanistan, and nuclear Pakistan. Trump has chosen the Biden solution of dividing Iraq and Afghanistan, and the conclusion of a deal with the Taliban and with Putin with the Farshi and with Iran.
Fourth, the Israeli have to trust the American President, and that has been accomplished. Bibi is once again in Russia, and it seems quite possible that we and our Russian allies will have a substantial peace keeping force in the West Bank.
One can imagine major, major movement towards peace in the election year of 2020 and with another reason to re-elect Trump. When AIPAC becomes anti-Bibi, that strongly suggests he is going for a Nobel Peace prize.
We will see.
Second,
The 2-State Solution has been dead for quite some time killed off by Israel never willing to end its occupation and military control of Palestine and its people. The idea that Israel will ever willingly and seriously curtail settlements is delusional. Israel will continue its aparteid-driven policies until it has exhausted the support of the Western democracies led by a new generation of leaders who see it for the imperialist state it is.
13
More "magical thinking" Mr. Friedman. Palestinians need to have a way to have their own sovereign state..a connection between Gaza and the West Bank, with Israel's big foot off them. Hard to believe that Israel is so insecure what with their military might, armed to the teeth, that they cannot allow that but instead are moving towards an apartheid state if they are not there already.( I think they are.) B.D.S. is a result. an outgrowth, of many years of nothing-burger peace plans that fall far short,excuses to gain time to spread East and change the legal internationally respected boundaries, claiming territory gotten through war (against international law). This through an often brutal occupation lasting an incredible 52 years. Resistance gets called terrorism and is an excuse for this self destruction on the part of Israel. The extreme demands of some of those in BDS, some, match the Israeli side. In reality if there was a viable plan talks could begin and concessions made. Israel has the cards and the harder concessions to make. Netanyahu will not save Israel, which must save itself. The people will decide.
12
For a change a balanced article by Friedman. The whole conflict is so complicated and emotional so you seldom get an opinion that is not leaning radical to one side.
I think that people think too small, if we only get this piece of land or give that piece of land all will become right.
The problem is that the Palastines want all the land back and will not be happy until that is achieved. Where does that leave the Jews? There is a saying " If Palestine stops fighting, there will be peace. If Isreal stops fighting there will be now Isreal left." Maby it will help to look at the definition of "Palestine's", before the state of Isreal was created, meaning "People who live in Palestine". That was Arabs, Jews and Christians. Does that mean that just as Palastines has a claim on Isreal, Jews have a claim on Palestine? Both sides need to look for the common good!
6
@Ben Kruger
Your own position is "radical". You think it's OK for Jews to fight to be able to rule that land, and you think it's not OK for Palestinians to fight to be able to SHARE rule of the land. That's biased on the face of it.
Mr. Friedman is very good at analyzing the problem here but not so great at proposing a solution. As it happens a man named Mohandas K. Gandhi had the right idea and it worked for a colony a hundred times greater than the occupied territories in Israel/Palestine. He had the people of India (including what are now Pakistan and Bangladesh) forsake violent confrontations with the British in favor of massive displays of unarmed civil disobedience- activities in which many of his countrymen lost their lives but also refrained from taking life. He shamed the British before the world and he did so at time in which cell-phones and social media were not even imagined. The same agenda can and would work today for, much like the British, the Israelis can be made to lose face by overreacting to nonviolent protest. Inasmuch as we're not likely to see an Israeli equivalent to Clement Attlee, perhaps a Palestinian patriot will arise with the foresight, ingenuity and inherent decency of Mohandas Gandhi. If not, this situation is bound to get worse before it gets better.
comment submitted 8/20 at 11:53 PM
2
@stu freeman
I would so love to see what you suggest work, but you included a term that I fear dooms any chance. That term is “social media”. Too few people are willing to look outside of their social media silo to see what is really happening or being said. We here in America are not dealing with as an intractable a problem as the Israeli/Palestinian one, but we still have the problem of “siloing”. Too many people I know rely of their social media for their news. And too many times, they use “facts” from their social media to contradict what is.
@stu freeman, Whenever Palestinians have tried peaceful protest they are drenched in liquid stinking garbage out of specially designed tank water canons. The stench is unbearable. On other occasions they are shot, arrested, imprisoned, expelled, many killed. The main reason Gandhi was successful was the British felt shame, they believed in civility, they cared about their image abroad. Yes they did terrible things as colonizers but they wanted, still, to be seen as decent. Too many Israelis don’t care, they believe the Palestinians are vermin, they have no shame. They want all the land and resources of the Palestinians. They think God gave it to them so they are justified in breaking every Commandment and world view of decency. Nonviolence doesn’t work with brutal governments, so boycotts are all they have.
2
@stu freeman
You completely misread the situation.
If there was a Palestinian Gandhi, the Israelis would make a deal with him in about 10 minutes.
There would be no need for the Israelis to be shamed into withdrawal; they would withdraw singing and dancing. Sharon tried unilateral withdrawal; that move was met with yet more Palestinian violence.
The problem is, there has never been a Palestinian Gandhi, and if one were to arise, the Palestinians would likely assassinate him.
4
Perhaps, there might be more than a glimmer of hope if the Palestinians had devoted their resources in Gaza to building productive enterprise rather than attack tunnels.
20
Really. Gaza is ocean front property. I envision tourist hotels and resorts. I feel bad for the Palestinians, but have they ever acted sensibly?
2
@CAM
They did. The fact that you are unaware of it is deeply troubling.
And why don't you make the same argument on the other side? "If Israel had not devoted its resources to its military ..."
2
"The only hope I see is for the emergence of an Israeli leader ready to boldly make a unilateral ... separation..."
Exactly right on: any solution has got to start with the people involved, end of story. Which begs the question: why are we wasting our time and resources trying to solve their problems when none of the parties are even interested in a solution?
Seems like it's time to turn our back to the whole Israeli/Palestinian situation, and just let the mess simmer in its own putrid juices. If and when they're ever ready for help towards solving their problems, I'm sure they won't be shy about asking for it. Until then, there's a lot more going on in the Middle East (and, for that matter, the rest of the world, to say nothing of here at home) that's far more worthy of our attention.
4
The arrogance of the Allied powers after WWII is proving to be a cancer. It was bad enough after WWI, but they would not be satisfied.
5
Friedman, as usual engages in mental acrobatics to minimize Israeli leaders and the populace who votes for them the responsibility for this mess. Even in mentioning BDS he goes at length in citing negative hypotheticals about BDS as facts when it is clear that BDS is calling for boycitting israeli products while the occupation continues. His admiration of Dennis Ross, who as the US representative in various positions in the "peace negotiations" strongly ensured that the Israeli views were the only views to considered under the different israeli leaders who differed among themselves in minor and insignificant details for decades. In essence derailing all the already feeble peace negotiations.
7
Sharon’s prediction has already come true.
3
Netanyahu doesn't want peace. He wants land, all of it. He wants expulsion of any muslim who doesn't accept second class status. That is the Israeli "peace" plan.
Israeli governments complained for decades that Arabs didn't agree with Israel's right to exist. How are Netanyahu's governmental positions are any different than Israel's adversaries in the past?
The Israeli people re-elected Netanyahu. The Palestinians don't have a functioning government, and even more so- don't have a State they have control of of, instead what they have is being packed into ever tighter areas where Israel decides what can, and cannot be built.
There is one government. It is the Israeli one. Israel has made sure of that. No one can effectively negotiate for the Palestinians.They are dispossessed and disenfranchised.
The two state solution no longer reflects the situation on the ground. Israeli settlers also made sure of that. The only solution that Israel offers is an apartheid one.
Mr Friedman is naive to think that there is such a thing a Palestine left for a two state solution, unless he thinks Gaza comprises a State more than a ghetto. Palestinians are a people either disenfranchised or second class citizens, and to the government of Israel, they will never have equal human rights because they are not Jewish.
Israel will never have peace with dignity. The Palestinians are only offered peace under apartheid. There will not be peace. It is Netanyahu's gift to Israel's future.
13
@Ed Brennan. Your dystopic view of the on-the-ground situation is sobering, but clear-eyed. While there were slivers of hope in the past, the combination of Netanyahu and Trump has extinguished even the embers of a possible brighter future. The only good news, for me, is that I have no children.
1
The self-described world’s greatest deal maker was also going to become the world’s greatest miracle worker. Trump and his sycophantic son-in-law would bring peace to the Middle East.Wrong. The Trump plan? Do whatever the PM of Israel wants. American foreign policy has been sold to a Las Vegas casino operator working closely with Israel. The current administration is hopeless and hapless and must be removed from office.
3
Another incoherent “both sides” talk from a centrist thinker whose ideas on this subject are twenty-five years out of date or more. The notion that Palestinians need to cooperate with anybody about anything is a farce, always has been, and it’s not getting easier to cover up. This is about colonialism, domination, and control, and it always has been.
4
Listen, our lack of plan to solve Israel’s problem is completely consistent. We have no plan to solve our immigration problem, our gun problem, our climate problem, our race problem or most other problems we seem to be fumbling around with. The real problem is, of course, ourselves, we the people, who have not been able to solve the problem involved in us learning to make this a “United” States that can actually practice some semblance of democracy. If we had, we would know that democracy is people working together to solve their problems!!!
2
The proposed unilateral withdrawal from parts of the West Bank while retaining "overall security control" and significant settlements strikes me as similar to Apartheid South Africa's unilateral withdrawal from the Bantustan areas. It is not a reasonable solution to deprive one side of most of their land and resources plus decades of economic development, and then impose "overall security control" (which would presumably include a trade blockade like in Gaza and a movement ban like when the US Congresswomen were not allowed to visit the West Bank). If Israel wants to retain the land it conquered from the Palestinians, it must give the people who live there full citizenship rights. Otherwise, Israel should be treated as a global pariah, as Iraq was when that country conquered Kuwait.
7
I am old enough to remember when a two-state solution might have worked. For decades now the Israeli Territories have been drifting toward their MLK Moment: equal rights for all. Don Trump is accelerating the process. Why? Who knows.
I hope the irony is not lost on the readers, of an American advocating for a supposed right of people to have a state in their original country.
5
Hand this problem over to a diverse group of Third Graders and they would have it solved before the recess bell rings.
1
Hand this problem over to a diverse group, a Third Grade Think Tank; they would have it solved before recess.
2
This article reminds me of the old joke of the dying man whose entire family surround his bedside . He calls out the names of all and they all respond, then despondently he wails, "Who is watching the store?"
There is no one on either side with a plan and a program to start peace negotiations . We need someone like Elizabeth Warren . "Aspirations for sovereignty" are not any more for sale than Greenland. Kushner is now also a non-player. What is striking about this abysmal situation is the similarity between US and Israel politics: both countries suffer from self-centered, probably corrupt leadership----where retention of power is the chief objective , rather than the greatest good for the people.
In both countries the goal of honest and decent voters should be voting against the man in power, with little emphasis on the opponent.
6
There is no Palestinian-Israeli peace process. Neither Palestine nor Israel has taken substantive steps to resolve the dispute because significant minorities on each side oppose any equitable resolution. On the Israeli side, some right-wing parties will accept nothing less than annexation of the entire West Bank and subjugation of its citizens. On the Palestinian side, intractable radicals still call for the destruction of Israel. These extremists have, so far, been able to put an agreement out of reach, and that shows no sign of changing.
6
Mr. Friedman wants to castigate all parties, but then all parties were not responsible. The American people have no voice. The State Department handles relations with foreign governments. All their soft negotiations have failed. They have failed because the US which enables this horrible situation refuses to use its power to do so. The humanitarian and defense aid we spend on Israel. His solution:
"In a unilateral separation, the Israeli Army would retain overall security control of the West Bank but cede much more day-to-day economic control and political control to Palestinians, and curb Jewish settlement deep in the West Bank." You mean turning the West bank into another open-air prison like Gaza? Leave the West bank the crumbs they have after Israel has taken the best land, the best resources that belong to them? We had agreements that were were allowed to die: Oslo, the Road Map, The Arab Peace Proposal. It's all a sham unless we are willing to back it up with something serious, but then it appears we never were serious. Just serious about blaming others.
16
So many commentators who strive for a balanced view in this conflict assume that the establishment of a Palestinian State will produce peace. What is the evidence for that?
I have never heard a Palestinian voice that accepts Jewish sovereignty anywhere in the land of Palestine. They always speak in code. "Yes, we recognize Israel but we demand the right of return" - the second clause negating the first. It's a shell game.
Can someone answer this question? What can the Palestinians do as a sovereign, independent state that they cannot do now and how will these newly acquired capabilities improve the lives of its citizens, if at all?
For if there is no improvement, then surely the establishment of a Palestinian state will not bring peace.
9
@RLS
A sovereign Palestinian state would be able to trade with whoever it wants without paying Israeli taxes, develop its own resources like water and natural gas, build new housing without Israeli permits, build a seaport and airport, not have checkpoints or Israeli-only roads making internal travel difficult, not face Israeli police or army incursions, and have control over who enters their country. All these things would improve Palestinian economic development and quality of life. Just compare Palestine to the independent country of Lebanon. Lebanon’s GDP per capita is four times higher.
And Palestinian recognition of Israel is not an obstacle to peace, as Israel is a nuclear-armed nation more than capable of defending itself from genuine existential threats without keeping millions of Palestinians in an open-air prison. China doesn’t recognize Taiwan’s sovereignty yet those two countries are at peace.
7
@RLS What could they do? Travel, sell their goods without Israel confiscating taxes, have an airport, live like humans not animals over campfires, be represented in the UN, not have their olive orchards cut down, prevent sewage from being dumped into their water wells, not have their homes bulldozed, no more Sabra Shatila massacres, no more Rachel Corrie's, basic medicines in clinics, ...
2
@RLS Without a two state solution Palestinians must become full citizens of Israel or Israel becomes an apartheid state. In the end, there is no happy ending here.
1
Just Pre-ordered that Dennis Ross book. Thanks for the heads up.
If you haven’t read anything by Dennis Ross, stop, and pick up one of his books now. Missing Peace was one of the best books I’ve ever read. Period.
Thanks again!!
3
The United States under Barack Obama missed a chance when it did not join other nations in recognizing a State of Palestine that would be demilitarized with a U.N. peacekeeping force to replace the Israeli Occupation. Harry Truman took the courageous and very unpopular step in 1948 to recognize a Sate of Israel and that made all the difference. And that's what it will take to create two equal nations who then can finalize the borders based on past U.N. resolutions as well as the status of Jerusalem. We need U.S. leadership and it will definitely not come from Jared Kushner nor Donald Trump.
20
ul Wortman
Recognizing a State of Palestine does not magically create a state just as Truman's recognition of the State of Israel did not create Israel. The Jews had to fight off Arab armies attacking from the north, east and south to create a nation (having forced the British out earlier). If there is any hope for Palestinian self-governing entity it will only exist if the Israeli left can gain control of the government from Bibi and his ultra religious party allies.
About 20 years ago I came to suspect that the Israeli "peace plan" was to make life miserable for the Palestinians until the Palestinians grew tired and left. The Israelis were willing to wait centuries for the Palestinians to give up if that's what it took. And any talk about a "two-state solution" back then was merely a charade—providing convenient cover for doing nothing while the strategy of slow displacement continued on its relentless course.
Twenty years later, I see no reason to believe I was wrong.
I'm afraid it's Tom Friedman who's indulging in a pathetic festival of magical thinking, performance art, and reality denial if he believes Israel wants any solution other than the one it's currently pursuing.
471
@617to416 Untrue. The deal was there on the table and Yasser Arafat rejected it.
27
@Federalist What deal? Have you seen it? I have heard all the allusions to Palestinians who cannot accept 'yes', but years ago I did see a map that was part of an offer. It was a honeycomb of isolated sectors; hardly a coherent state.
No, 617to416 has it exactly right. Israeli policy has been to push, push, push the Palestinians out of greater Israel. With Trump they have the perfect partner.
26
You are wrong.
Israel returned the entire Sinai to Egypt in exchange for peace.
Israel vacated the settlements in Gaza, in the hope of planting the seeds of peace.
19
Same question I ask every time I read about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, what if Gandhi had been a Palestinian? I wish the Palestinians would read up on him because I believe non-violent protest is the only way forward. The Palestinian have tried everything else, how about trying something different?
14
Uh, that’s what the boycott movement is. And it’s directly inspired by the model of Gandhian boycotts in India, South Africa and the U.S. South.
17
@rob They have tried non-violence. What has the West bank seen after 20 years of full cooperation? Their land slowly stolen, their orchards and wells destroyed, roads they cannot use built around their villages. Huge concrete barriers that cut their towns in half. Humiliating checkpoints that make travel impossible. Stop with this charade.
4
@rob They tried peaceful protests as well. Israelis shot and killed children during those peaceful protests.
4
"Two states for two peoples" is dead. Long live one state with progressive leadership. Another impossible dream, perhaps, but more likely and logical than what the parties are fighting for now. The political, nationalist and religious interests of both sides must be fairly addressed, not with fantastical scenarios (like BDS or apartheid state or right of return) but with acknowledgement that both sides equally belong where they are.
4
Is there an "equality" of power?
There are no good solutions because we are victims of the past. Israel will struggle with democratic legitimacy until one of two things happens - either ALL Palestinians are given the vote as their territory becomes part of Israel or a two state solution is arrived at where the Palestinians have autonomy and chart their own course in the world.
From my perspective as an outsider I think I'll recognize the right answer when both sides are complaining about how unfair it is. I've not really seen anything like that put on the table in recent times.
9
"Israelis and Gulf Arabs funding a leveraged buyout of Palestinian aspirations for sovereignty and statehood." This is not a bad idea. The alternative is the Palestinians will get nothing and Israel will slowly annex the west bank, but keep the people there disenfranchised.
1
@joe what you describe is illegal. Either Israel annexes all of the land and extends full citizenship to the Palestinians, or it keeps them as prisoners. You can't have it both ways, which is exactly what Israel is doing.
2
The process known as "peace process" have killed more people than a war, so it should come as a little surprise that it is as unpopular with all the involved parties as it actually is. It doesn't become farse since it have been a farse from the very start. That is why it failed. The only way to make a progress is to ditch a concept that totaly failed and to start looking for a new one.
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"We have peace plans with no partners and movements with no peace plans."
so true.
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It’s strange that Mr. Friedman is advocating for redux of withdrawal from Gaza writ large, when it led directly to a terrorist group seizing control. That seems far worse then all of the alternatives, including “Rhodesia”.
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@Regina
He is explicitly NOT calling for that. Read it again.
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The headline created a false expectation - in advancing the proposition that the peace process somehow "became" a farce.
This suggests that it was not previously a farce and a non-starter.
Only by transposing the Jewish state to another part of the world (possibly to another planet) will the Palestinian side be satisfied. Only by transposing the Palestinians to another part of the world (possibly another planet) will Israel's security concerns be satisfied.
In Canada, we have a large territory called Nunavut which has large swatches that are unoccupied - and which could receive one or the other group involved.
It would not have the same rhetorical flourish as Patrick Henry's famous "Give me Liberty, or give me Death". But maybe it could become the basis for the peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis - "Give me Nunavut, or give me Death."
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@Maurice Gatien
Reversing your rhetoric yields:
"Only by transposing the Palestinian state to another part of the world (possibly to another planet) will the Jewish side be satisfied. Only by transposing the Jews to another part of the world (possibly another planet) will Palestine's security concerns be satisfied."
Do you still stand by your framing, or do you now see it as biased?
The sovereignty and powers that a Palestinian state would have in a two-state solution were also never defined, and it may well be that be that a two state solution acceptable to both Israel and the Palestinians was always an illusion. An illusion that maintained Israeli control but gave the Palestinians limited automony. Which reflects the likely reality that you can't have a Jewish state (i.e. one that prioritizes Jewish rights and reserves dominant political power for Jews) without subordinating and displacing the Palestinians.
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I'm glad that Trump's religious fundamentalist buddies haven't been able to turn the US into a Christian state. I wouldn't want to be a Jewish minority in a Christian state. So I can understand Palestinians not wanting to have their country turned into a Jewish state. Any religious state is fundamentally unfair to people not of the state religion. It's no more anti-semitic to say Israel should be a non-sectarian state than it is anti-Christian to say the US should remain a non-sectarian state.
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The value of the various improbable solutions to the Palestinian problem is purely cosmetic. These plans offer some form of political cover to their proponents. For example, fealty to the two-state principle allows western supporters of Israel to pretend that settler colonization of Palestinian lands will prove to be temporary and reversible.
Friedman fears that Israel is at risk of becoming an apartheid state. But in reality it has already occurred. Only the fuzzy myth of some sort of future negotiation prevents that harsh fact from being recognized.
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The longer I live the more convinced I am that this part of the world is cursed. Bibi being an absolutist has nearly killed the 2 state solution. The settlements that are being build & those already built will probably never be undone. Settlers have made their home, put down roots & have a sense of place. That is very hard if not impossible to undo. In Israel and the West Bank as well as Gaza there are those who do not want a solution. They believe that they are right . With each passing year the negative mythologies that each hold dear become more entrenched. The old lions of Israel
are gone. I ask where are those in Israel who will stand up to Bibi? He is creating a greater Israel but in doing so he is ruining the chances of Israel continuing as a democracy.
The 2 state solution is no walk in the park. It will involve much pain & sacrifice. I disagree with those 4 in Congress especially with the stupid idea of boycotting. Israel is not South Africa as it once was. Israel & the US both have bankrupt leadership. If Israel is to survive & be secure new
leadership is needed. Bibi like Trump uses fear & loathing to stay in power. That is a recipe for continuing strife. The Palestinians need an economic path forward . Hopefully
Bibi will be out, Trump will be gone and just perhaps the curse can be replaced by hope. It certainly is not going to be Jared. If this were just a "simple" real estate deal it would have been done already. It is so much more than that.
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@DM
Everything can be undone. Jews displaced the Caananites. Romans displaced the Jews. Muslims displaced the Romans. Europeans took control from the Muslims. Jews took control from the Europeans. History is deep, and nobody "owns" land for long.
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It became a farce decades ago when Israel realized no one was going to push it back to its original, pre-six-day-war borders. Most of the world simply stopped caring and just got comfortable with the way things were. Until now. Maybe.
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@Benjamin Gilbert - There are no pre-1967 "borders> What you are referring to is the 1949 armistice line which arose from the 1947-48 war where seven Arab nations attacked Israel, leaving her with less territory than originally agreed. The Arab states did not want a permanent border as it would make it more difficult to attack Israel again and destroy her, which was (and for many nations, still is) their goal.
The so-called West Bank /Judea and Samaria/disputed territories was meant to be part of Israel and was illegally taken and occupied by Jordan between 1948-1967. Israel regained it in a defensive war. This is reflected in the treaties and political agreements of that time.
The Arab states have had 70 years to make peace; other than Jordan and Egypt none has done so. Most Arab League states do not even recognize Israel. It's hard to make peace with entities that want to exterminate you (Hamas and the P.A.) and/or don't accept your existence.
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What is most disturbing to me is how far towards extreme right-wing nationalism and even outright fascism the Likud party has moved; mirroring Trump and the Republicans in America and the Bannon/Putin/Mercer/etc initiatives in Europe.
When the oligarchic forces that have been orchestrating the general anti-other, anti-immigrant fears of people all over the place reach the levels we are seeing now and especially the nation which should most be anti-fascists, it tells of the forces of darkness attempting to keep the world and our species on a track towards spiritual evolution.
Light not favor any person or any nation but shines upon everyone unconditionally. She asks us to act towards one another as she acts towards us, with unconditional love for each and every one.
Let us be conscious of the tactics of fascism, which is an evil that can arise anywhere, in any nation. When the lessons of history are not learned and applied, they will among humans, always repeat themselves.
How I yearn for moral, clear-minded leaders, who while imperfect, lead from a place of moral courage. I am thinking off people like Eleanor Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, Abraham Lincoln, and in Israel people like Golda Meir and scholars such as Amnon Rubinstein among many others.
We need moral leadership from the great nations and today I am seeing almost none. Without moral leadership, the human species is in deep trouble. Too much intellect and not enough heart. In America today, there is neither.
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Kushner has a great peace plan written in invisible ink.
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Jared Kushner is family friends with Netanyahu. There is no way he is not biased and therefore, the absolute wrong person to be involved in any peace plan.
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Mr. Friedman, unfortunately while looking at the details you miss the greater picture.
It is no longer about 1967. In fact it has never been about 1967. It is about 1948.
The Palestinians have time after time insisted upon "do-overs". Well they have gotten them and lost.
When you push backwards it is not always easy to stop the clock. The Palestinians are not the only ones pushing backwards or getting "do-overs".
1948 is based on 640 CE- Arab conquest of the Land of Israel. They took it by the sword and lost it the same way.
One man's settlers are another man's sons returning to their ancestral homes. Jewish homes.
Imagine Mr. Friedman if the Palestinians had accepted 1948 and not fought Israel. There would be two states or maybe not. My guess is that Israel would not have survived those borders. Take a close look at the map Mr. Friedman. Now make a viable suggestion instead of going tsk tsk.
In the Middle East, farce is the normal and default. This is not the US and Canada. It is not even the US and Mexico.
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@Joshua Schwartz The Palestinians had no army, hence they had no way of "fighting" Israel. The nabka happened and they were driven off the land and killed if they resisted. What a distorted view of history you have.
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@Joshua Schwartz You are basically absolutely correct. History is relevant. The UN divided up the area in 1947. The Jews accepted and the Arabs invaded. Several wars were fought with the surrounding Arab nations declaring that they will destroy Israel. My last hope was in 2000 and Camp David. Arafat first accepted a peaceful solution, but at the end refused to sign the peace treaty that would have given the Palestinians a state with control of the old city of Jerusalem, except for the Jewish quarter. It's a long story, but Palestinian leadership and its followers have never accepted Israel as a neighbor in the Middle East. Palestinians still have not emotionally accepted Israel as a neighbor. Israel has become a viable country as, tragically, the Palestinians have not. Their leadership, except for Anwar Sadat, has led them down a deadend "street". Other Gulf Arab states are becoming tired of the Palestinian leadership and starting to work with Israel as Israel has a lot to offer them, both technologically and economically. I fear I'll die not seeing any viable solution.
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@JoeThe Palestinians had the same militia that The 1948 Israelis had. They were also backed up by the armies of 7 Arab countries. Are you really unaware of all this?
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What so many of our current leaders throughout the world don't understand is the meaning of "public" in public office---they are elected to serve the public, not their own personal interest---whether that be economic or political. When they win "public" office that don't proceed to serve the public good, but their own private good. What is astounding to me, is many of these leaders don't even try hiding their goals anymore---Trump and BiBi are upfront and personal about whose wishes they are serving.
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If Jared Kushner or Trump came to you with a plan to 'invest' in your city or town, I think most places, knowing what they know about Kushner and Trump's track record, would say 'Thanks, but no thanks'. Is a slumlord better than the alternative? Knowing full well that as a slumlord, he would make millions off of the deal. Should he be praised for what he bought to Baltimore? Who is Kushner working for....the players in the region or the investors outside the region? Maybe it would be better to have someone involved who does not have a stake in the game. And for the investors to take profit off the table, in this particular case, and focus on doing the right thing instead. You can always make money. People who donate to their church do so for a higher reason than getting a return on their investment. When the people in this administration don't look at life that way, perhaps you have the wrong people involved.
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Netflix has a better chance of conflict resolution than Jared kushner. Tune in Our Boys. Might take a few hundred seasons, though, before the finale.
Krug - An interesting analysis as always.
However - you lean to the theory that as because Gaza and the West Bank have differentiated leaderships, they are therefore symptomatic of total dysfunction.
As you well know, divide-and-rule is one of the first concepts of any war or occupation. It's working perfectly.
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@juju2900 - The fact that the government of Gaza is Hamas and the government of the West Bank is the Palestinian Authority has nothing to do with Israel. Both entities held free elections and that was the result. (Of course, those elections were years ago and there haven't been any since, but that's another issue).
Israel withdrew from Gaza nearly 15 years ago. How is that 'divide-and-conquer'?
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@juju2900 Interesting that you call it an “occupation” since that clearly shows who you support.
Friedman's insights spot-on. No matter the political situation, strife will continue as it has for decades. Vast , intractable differences in religion, culture, and wealth only deepen the chasm on-going.
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Why does anyone think that unilateral separation or two states for that matter are achievable politically in Israel ? It’s just not in the cards anymore. The only possibility left for a reasonable arrangement, not necessarily permanent since it doesn’t preclude the 2 State Solution at a later stage, is a federation- see
www.federation.org.il - a citizen state (constitution, equality) with Gaza as a separate Palestinian State.
Was there a process? There has been a one-side direction from Israel and its ally, the United States to the Palestinians. I guess the only solution to the situation is both parties should recognize their faith is not perpetual, but temporary. Then, they would start to find a resolution for now - one hundred or two hundred years.
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It is extremely hard to come up with a peace plan when one side calls for the destruction of another. Had Israel lost the 1967 war would there be an Israel? Had the Arab coalition won the 1967 war would they have granted concession to the Jewish State?
Before we begin a peace process we must deal with reality. If there are no concessions, by either side, how can there be a peace process?
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@bsb Your comment is reality which history provides and few understand or want to believe it.
Google "Arab Peace Plan."
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@bsb This canard has been repeated endlessly, but its not true:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/01/hamas-new-charter-palestine-israel-1967-borders
Designing a viable peace agreement is certainly daunting, but Palestinians and Israelis have done so multiple times. Honoring and preserving those agreements after they have been signed, however, is historically the most problematic phase of the peace process.
Friedman once wrote that a mediator (in this case) is akin to obstetrician who can only be successful if the consulting couple are genuinely intent on and doing their part to get pregnant and give birth - in this case to a comprehensive agreement to end the conflict.
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Both sides (Israel and Palestine/West Bank) have legitimate concerns and needs, as well as tons of arguments based on history, justice, etc. Right now Israel is by far the stronger side, and its body politic is increasingly dismissive of the other side's point of view. Israel's intransigence is supported by US aid - what is it, $3 billion annually? Perhaps Israel could be made less intransigence by the elimination of all US aid - or how about a substantial reduction? Wouldn't that provide some incentive to Israel to be creative about finding actual solutions, or at least seeking them anew? Of course this aid reduction/suspension won't happen in the current US political environment. But it might happen over time - already there's a serious US presidential candidate who is substantively and consistently critical of Israel. But we need more than just socialists, or freshman congresswomen, to view things this way.
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@James How about the US limiting or stopping aid to the PA which is corrupt and dictatorial?
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The farce did not begin with Kushner. No peace plan can succeed when one side, the Israelis, demand that the other side, the Palestinians, agree to be lesser.
What proves my view correct is Israeli insistence, over generations, on building settlements on the West Bank. Why?
The easy way to prove me wrong would be for Israel to offer citizenship and union to all inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza. How fantastic that sounds only proves me correct.
In fact, the Israelis want a continuation of the current situation, that's why there can never be a serious peace plan. In the long run that will be self defeating, the slow absorption of the West Bank and Gaza will continue. The Palestinian fight for self determination will be transformed into a fight for civil rights inside Israel. What will Israel do then?
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@PNBlanco
There wasn't peace before 1967, when there were no "occupied territories". Nor was there peace before 1948, when there was no Israeli state.
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@Zev
Why do you say there was no peace before 1948? Was there peace before 1939?
@PNBlanco
The Arabs declared war in 1948, not 1939.
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There will not be a peace process until everyone admits the obvious - a two state solution is not workable. There just isn't enough land and resources to split between the two countries and it is magical thinking to assume that the Israelis will give up enough resources to make a Palestinian state viable.
That leaves us with the possibility of a one state solution where everyone is equal. Before you scoff, it is how we Americans assume things are supposed to work.
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@Glenn, both Jews and Arabs have red blood flowing in their veins, they each have salty tears, 2 arms 2 legs, beating heart. Then why not equal! No human is less equal than another even if the social construct says so. We are all creator’s children.
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@Glenn while I agree with you statement that there is not enough land or Resourses for both peoples there is way too much hate for any one state solution. Plus the palestinian people will over time grow much greater then the Jewish people. And they would control any voting. There is no solution.
The article is an excellent summary of the current state of the of the Israeli- Palestinian "Peace" process. Unfortunately Mr Friedman misinterprets one seminal event. The Forcible removal of Israeli settlers from Gaza by the Israeli Army in 2005 ended any chance of moderate and Left wing Israelis seriously advocating a Peace Process in Israel. For Israeli moderates the withdrawl has been a Political disaster.
Israel left a functioning agrigultural Infrastructure that Hamas destroyed. Most of the money donated by Arab states, the European Union, USA , UN and the rest of the world has been used in Gaza to buy missiles, build tunnels into Israel etc etc. Hamas has used its control of Gaza to use all the money in the world to build a failed state. Gaza fires missiles into Israel or sents tens of thousands of unemployed Palestinian youth to the Israeli border to riot whenever there is not enough money coming in from the rest of the world.
For most Israelis the Gaza withdrawl was the end of a serious peace process with Palistinians. For Israel it was a terrible failed Peace experiment.
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@Martin This narrative is completely false. The Israelis destroyed everything before leaving Gaza, including plans to demolish a large greenhouse that the Palestinians needed for agriculture. Philanthropists raised the money to buy back the greenhouse, but Israel left a security vacuum where parts of it were scavenged. They built it back up, had a very successful harvest that rotted at the crossings because Israel refused to let them cross. The Gazans have seen their doors kicked in and its people constantly harassed because of Israel's "security." The pullout was never conducted in good faith
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News flash Tom! The annexation of the West Bank has been the Israeli policy since Netanyahu was elected in 1996. The entire settlement project was and is a process of gradual annexation.
The Palestinian leadership is not without its failures. But they have always been the junior partner in this arrangement.
The US could have provided guaranteed security for safe and secure borders for Israel, just as we've done with South Korea. But to do so Israel would first have to have an international recognized border with Palestine. Slow annexation keeps moving the line.
As for the BDS demand that Israel respect the Palestinian "right of return"; anyone who's followed the negotiations knows that this issue was basically settled by the respective negotiating teams years ago.
The idea that this is some plot to destroy Israel is fiction and propaganda. The Israeli's agreed to recognize the "right" and the Palestinians agreed not to seek enforcement of "the right" as part of final status negotiations post Oslo.
In exchange, Israel was going to offer some territorial concession beyond the 67 green line and the Palestinians would welcome its refugees back into a new Palestinian state.
The BDS 'demand' is simply asking for a return to that moment in the negotiations when two states were possible.
While some BDS supporters want a single unified democratic state, most still support the last, dwindling hopes for two states by ending the occupation.
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@Drspock - The 'right of return' issue has NEVER been settled, at least not according to the PA which is planning to bring up the issue before the U.S. next month (see Jerusalem Post and other media for details).
Imposing the 'right of return' is an integral goal of the BDS movement - it's on the first page of www.bdsmovement.net and on the websites of organizations that support BDS.
The ultimate goals of BDS is to destroy Israel. They're very clear about it. Lying and saying 'that's not true', when anyone can look up the truth, isn't going to convince anyone.
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