Peter Beinart: “I No Longer Believe In A Jewish State”

Peter Beinart, a long-time liberal Zionist and advocate of a two-State solution, has now changed his mind. He stirred much controversy with an article in The New York Times (July 8, 2020) entitled, “I No Longer Believe In A Jewish State.” This was preceded by a longer article in Jewish Currents, where he is editor-at-large, “Yavne: A Jewish Case For Equality In Israel-Palestine.”

He writes: “For decades I argued for a separation between Israelis and Palestinians. Now, I can imagine a Jewish home in an equal state...I was 22 in 1993 when Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat shook hands on the White House lawn to officially begin the peace process that many hoped would create a Palestinian state alongside Israel. I’ve been arguing for a two-State solution...ever since. “

Beinart notes that, “I knew Israel was wrong to deny Palestinians in the West Bank citizenship, due process, free movement and the right to vote in the country in which they lived. But the dream of a two-State solution that would give Palestinians a country of their own let me hope that I could remain a liberal and a supporter of Jewish statehood at the same time. Events have extinguished that hope.”

At the present time, about 640,000 Jewish settlers now live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank and, argues Beinart, “...the Israeli and American governments have divested Palestinian statehood of any real meaning. The Trump administration’s peace plan envisions an archipelago of Palestinian towns scattered across as little as 70% of the West Bank, under Israeli control. ...If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fulfills his pledge to impose Israeli sovereignty in parts of the West Bank, he will just formalize a decades-old reality: In practice, Israel annexed the West Bank long ago.”

In reality, Beinart writes, “Israel has all but made its decision: one country that includes millions of Palestinians who lack basic rights. Now liberal Zionists must make our decision, too. It’s time to abandon the traditional two-state solution and embrace the goal of equal rights for Jews and Palestinians. It’s time to imagine a Jewish home that is not a Jewish state...Equality could come in the form of one state. That includes Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem......or it could be a confederation that allows free movement between two deeply integrated countries.”

Achieving the goal of equality, Beinart believes, ...would be long and difficult. But it is not fanciful. The goal of equality is now more realistic than the goal of separation...Israel is already a binational State. Two peoples, roughly equal in number, live under the ultimate control of one government. And the political science literature is clear: divided societies are most stable and most peaceful when governments represent all their people.”

Beinart concludes: “A Jewish state has become the dominant form of Zionism. But it is not the essence of Zionism. The essence of Zionism is a Jewish home in the land of Israel, a thriving Jewish society that can provide refuge and rejuvenation for Jews across the world. Israel-Palestine can be a Jewish home that is also, equally, a Palestinian home. Building that home can bring liberation not just for Palestinians but for us, too.” **