Why not two peoples, one state?
Michael Tarazi NYT Tuesday, October 5, 2004
Israelis and Palestinians
Israel's untenable policy in the Middle East was more obvious than usual last week, as
the Israeli Army made repeated incursions into Gaza, killing dozens of Palestinians in
the deadliest attacks in more than two years, even as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
reiterated his plans to withdraw from the territory.
.
Israel's overall strategy toward the Palestinians is ultimately self-defeating: It
wants Palestinian land but not the Palestinians who live on that land.
.
As Christians and Muslims, the millions of Palestinians under occupation are not
welcome in the Jewish state. Many Palestinians are now convinced that Israeli support
for a Palestinian state is motivated not by a hope for reconciliation, but by a desire
to segregate non-Jews while taking as much of their land and resources as possible.
.
They are increasingly questioning the most commonly accepted solution to the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict - "two states living side by side in peace and security,"
in the words of President George W. Bush - and are being forced to consider a
one-state solution.
.
To Palestinians, the strategy behind Israel's two-state solution is clear. More than
400,000 Israelis live illegally in more than 150 colonies, many of which are atop
Palestinian water sources. Sharon is prepared to evacuate settlers from Gaza - but
only in exchange for expanding settlements in the West Bank. And Israel is building a
barrier wall not on its land but rather inside occupied Palestinian territory. The
wall's route maximizes the amount of Palestinian farmland and water on one side and
the number of Palestinians on the other.
.
Yet while Israelis try to allay a demographic threat, they are creating a democratic
threat. After years of negotiations, coupled with incessant building of settlements
and now the construction of the wall, Palestinians finally understand that Israel is
offering "independence" on a reservation stripped of water and arable soil,
economically dependent on Israel and even lacking the right to self-defense.
.
As a result, many Palestinians are contemplating whether the quest for equal statehood
should now be superseded by a struggle for equal citizenship. In other words, a
one-state solution in which citizens of all faiths and ethnicities live together as
equals. Recent polls indicate that a quarter of Palestinians favor the secular
one-state solution.
.
Support for one state is hardly a radical idea; it is simply the recognition of the
uncomfortable reality that Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories already
function as a single state. They share the same aquifers, the same highway network,
the same electricity grid and the same international borders.
.
Some government maps of Israel do not delineate Israel's 1967 pre-occupation border.
Settlers in the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem) are interspersed among
Palestinian towns and now constitute nearly a fifth of the population.
.
But in this de facto state, 3.5 million Palestinian Christians and Muslims are denied
the same political and civil rights as Jews. These Palestinians must drive on separate
roads, in cars bearing distinctive license plates and only to and from designated
Palestinian areas. It is illegal for a Palestinian to drive a car with an Israeli
license plate. These Palestinians, as non-Jews, neither qualify for Israeli
citizenship nor have the right to vote in Israeli elections.
.
In South Africa, such an allocation of rights and privileges based on ethnic or
religious affiliation was called apartheid. In Israel, it is called the Middle East's
only democracy.
.
Most Israelis recoil at the thought of giving Palestinians equal rights,
understandably fearing that a possible Palestinian majority will treat Jews the way
Jews have treated Palestinians.
.
They fear the destruction of the never-defined "Jewish state." The one-state solution,
however, neither destroys the Jewish character of the Holy Land nor negates the Jewish
historical and religious attachment (although it would destroy the superior status of
Jews in that state). Rather, it affirms that the Holy Land has an equal Christian and
Muslim character.
.
For those who believe in equality, this is a good thing. In theory, Zionism is the
movement of Jewish national liberation. In practice, it has been a movement of Jewish
supremacy. It is this domination of one ethnic or religious group over another that
must be defeated before we can meaningfully speak of a new era of peace; neither Jews
nor Muslims nor Christians have a unique claim on this sacred land.
.
The struggle for Palestinian equality will not be easy. Power is never voluntarily
shared by those who wield it. Palestinians will have to capture the world's
imagination, organize the international community and refuse to be seduced into
negotiating for their rights.
.
But the struggle against South African apartheid proves the battle can be won. The
only question is how long it will take, and how much all sides will have to suffer,
before Israeli Jews can view Palestinian Christians and Muslims not as demographic
threats but as fellow citizens.
.
Michael Tarazi is a legal adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
$9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/BRUplB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
***************************************************************************
Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih
Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppiindia.shyper.com
***************************************************************************
__________________________________________________________________________
Mohon Perhatian:
1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik)
2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari.
3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru;
4. Posting: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
5. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
6. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
7. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
