THE IMPROBABLE TWO-STATE SOLUTION

AS OUTLANDISH AND UNLIKELY AS IT SEEMS NOW, PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE REMAINS THE ONLY RESONABLE GOAL.

The only hope is in the middle.

Israelis and Palestinians have rarely seemed less fated to coexist. Counterintuitively, maybe, this makes clinging to the (almost ridiculous) idea of a two-state solution more necessary than ever.

In my last post, I talked about how there is, effectively, no “moderate” Palestinian movement. The irrational flip side of this coin is that every incident of Israeli intolerance or fanaticism is pointed out as evidence of a systemic extremism.

Palestinian extremism, which is the almost unanimous approach in Palestine and in the “pro-Palestinian” movement worldwide, is somehow considered anomalous. Palestinianism, a movement driven (now more than ever) by fanatical, intolerant, annihilationist radicalism, is considered the flexible, friendly face in this conflict, and Zionism, which has always strived for peace and coexistence, is painted as the eternal enemy of harmony and goodwill.

The world sees what it wants to see. And what much of the world wants to see, clearly, is evil Jews. They will side with whoever is against the Jews, no matter how counter that position may be to every other value they hold. We see feminists siding with the most misogynistic forces on the planet. “Queers for Palestine” aligning with those who would toss us off the roof. Pacifists aligning with the most violent entities on earth. Trade unionists, liberals and progressives making common cause with the worst oppressors, tyrants and autocrats.

There is only one explanation.

Attitudes toward Jews — whether conscious, overt Jew-hatred like we see across much of the Arab world, or far more subtle inherent biases progressive activists deny they carry — are the driving force here.

And antisemitism hurts everyone. In this case, the raging hatred against the Jewish state prevents the advancement of the Palestinian people because, of course, the only thing that will ever “free Palestine” is their decision to live in peace with Israelis. And as long as the world continues to chant support for an endless, violent, apocalyptic battle of Palestinianism-versus-Zionism, the world ensures only more and more dead Palestinians and Israelis.

This is fine with most of these activists, of course. Because freeing Palestine is not their goal. Ending Israel and sticking it to the Jews is the aim here. And if tens of thousands more Palestinians have to die for the ideological purity of Western progressives, well, that seems like a price they are quite willing to pay. You can see the relish with which overseas “allies” celebrate the number of dead Palestinians in the current war, as though every corpse is proof of the activists’ moral superiority.

Hamas maximizes the number of dead Palestinians — placing military infrastructure in civilian neighborhoods, mosques, schools and hospitals, employing child combatants, playing cat-and-mouse games with the Israeli military — knowing that Western activists will count up the dead and declare Palestinians (and themselves) the moral victors. How blind do people have to be to not see the role these “peace activists” are playing in increasing the piles of Palestinian bodies?

So what is to be done?

Well, it may sound ridiculous at this point … but we still need a two-state solution.

Let’s be super-clear … After October 7, the world overwhelmingly demanded a two-state solution. That was an atrocious response to what happened. This appalling victim-blaming — the idea that Israelis were killed because Palestine was not independent — was an effort to reward beheadings, kidnappings, mass rapes and attempted genocide.

We need to make sure that there is no mistaking what happened on October 7 and an eventual two-state solution as cause and effect. This is vital not only for peace in the Middle East but for the fate of civilization. If October 7 is seen as leading to a positive outcome for Palestinians, it will empower terrorism worldwide and no civilian anywhere will be safe.

What needs to happen, first and foremost, is for Hamas and all Palestinian terrorists and extremists to be neutralized. There needs to be a massive societal de-Hamas-ification as there was a de-Nazi-fication after the Second World War (however imperfect). That could take years or even decades. But it has to be done and that is a prerequisite to an independent Palestine.

We also need to contest the very wrong message that some people took from the 2023 pogroms.

Since October 7, the idea that Israel could actually be defeated has taken hold across the West. Activists who once viewed the Palestinian movement as an admirable but ultimately fruitless work of a small people against a military colossus watched that military superpower brought to its knees on October 7. Overseas activists tasted blood. They abandoned any hedging around a peaceful resolution and now almost unanimously call for the complete eradication of Israel “from the river to the sea.” That was my point of my last post.

What they don’t understand about Israel is a lot.

October 7 recommitted Israelis and Jews worldwide (and anyone with moral clarity) to an even deeper commitment to Israel’s existence and the necessity of making sure it is the predominant superpower in its region. Israel was not going anywhere on October 6 and it is sure as hell is not going anywhere now.

More to the point, October 7 caused a catastrophe of morale in Israel — but it did not weaken Israel militarily and it did not weaken Israelis’ resolve. On the contrary. It strengthened Israelis’ resolve.

This brings us back to the idea of a “two-state solution.” I’ve written about this before but it is important.

There is a ridiculous idea that Israel killed the two-state solution. To adhere to this idea is to essentially deny history, reality and the law of gravity. Jews, Israelis and Zionists have always believed in, hoped for and strived toward coexistence with their neighbors — what other choice does a tiny people surrounded by enemies have, FFS?

And yet, repeatedly, the world has cast Israelis as the ones preventing peace and coexistence.

Israel has repeatedly tried to live in peace. The country has given away more land in peacetime than any other state. It has repeatedly tried to hand over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in exchange for nothing but a promise of peace. The Arab states, including the Palestinian leadership, have always said hell no.

There is precious little evidence that anything has changed or will change soon on the Palestinian side. Maybe pressure from Arab neighbors through a strengthening and expanding of the Abraham Accords could shake up the logjam. It seems a remote possibility, but it is a possibility. It is crucial to maintain hope.

When everything seems bleakest, I always remind myself that the Cold War ended in a whimper, not a big bang. Apartheid ended not in bloody revolution but in peaceful evolution. Astonishing, unimaginable developments can take place when you least expect them. This, when it comes down to it, is all I can hope for between Israelis and Palestinians. But it is a hope.

To abandon the idea of a two-state solution as, it seems, almost everyone in the “pro-Palestinian” movement has done, is to abandon all hope. While they will try to pin the collapse of the two-state ideal on us — on Israel and Israel’s allies — only a disordered reading of history supports that notion.

There really are only two options: two states living in peace, or perpetual war.

I don’t think there is any other alternative. So, no matter how bleak things look, that must remain the ultimate goal.

It is true that plenty of pro-Israel people, including me, see no likelihood on the horizon for two states, that is the only long-term possibility for peace-loving people.

Of course, “pro-Palestinian” activists repeatedly demonstrate they are not peace-loving people. When “pro-Palestinian” activists chant “From the river to the sea,” they are advancing nothing but bloodshed, conflict and death.

Nice job freeing Palestine.

We can’t let the extremists win. We cannot give up in the only hope for peace.

Palestinianism is, overwhelmingly, an intolerant, violent, racist movement. That needs to change and overseas voices have a role in that.

Zionism is a movement for coexistence and peace. The world needs to realize this.

This is our work for 2025.