TWO-STATE SOLUTION?

In the January issue of Peace, Alon Ben- Meir wrote: “Before embarking on new negotiations, the Biden administration should insist that both sides unequivocally commit to a two-state solution.”

That solution would of course, preserve Jewish supremacy in Israel, recently enshrined by Israel’s “Nation State Law”. Fully 20 percent of Israel’s population is Palestinian, living as lesser citizens. Ben-Meir also names Israel’s dilemma: A one- state solution which includes the West Bank and Gaza would “undercut its democratic nature.” Translated, that means one state would confirm to the world that Israel is an apartheid regime, where fully onehalf of its population, the Palestinians, live under its cruel thumb.

Once people realize Israel’s compIete control over all aspects of life in the occupied Palestinian territories (and the role of the Palestinian Authority as its enforcer), it becomes clear that the occupied Pales - tinian territories have long been de facto annexed. They are not actually a separate regime from Israel, somehow a temporary occupation “over there,” somehow not part of Israel’s “democracy.” Maps of Israel show no demarcation between Israel and the occupied territories. The territories are referred to as Judea and Samaria by Israelis. Nearly 700,000 Jewish settlers now live in the occupied territories and Palestinian East Jerusalem; they’re not leaving any time soon.

There is no place left for Palestinians to have a state. Israel has worked hard to lay down “facts on the ground” to establish its grip on the whole of the land. Nonetheless, there is now a shift in the discourse. Many Jewish intellectuals have taken the blinders off and are expressing their Judaism by working for equality and freedom for all.

Sally Campbell

Hornby Island, BC