"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." – Mohandas K. Gandhi
On the day Israelis went to the polls to elect a right-wing government that will include a party calling for the ethnic cleansing of non-Jewish Israeli citizens, Shimon Peres was dispatched to the Washington Post to tell the world they have nothing to worry about. Instead of being concerned about Avigdor Lieberman, Peres believes the current threat to peace are people calling for democracy and equality. Peres writes in his article, "One Region, Two States,"
There is no shortage of opinions when it comes to Middle East affairs,
and the recent events in Gaza have not muted them. A minority of Middle
East pundits have recently emerged as advocates for a one-state
solution, which would undermine Israel's legitimacy and internationally
recognized right to exist as a sovereign Jewish state in the land of my
forefathers. Having personally witnessed the remarkable progress we have made with
the Palestinian Authority in recent years, I believe that a two-state
solution is not only the best resolution to this age-old conflict but
one within our reach.
Peres's absurd statement, in the wake of Israel's decimation of Gaza, is an insult. For the most part Peres relies on Aaron David Miller's "least bad option" defense for the two-state solution. He
combines this with the particularly noxious paternalism of an occupier
claiming to advocate for Palestinian self-determination. A Palestinian friend writes,
We are to
believe that after 15 years of negotiations that have been used to
entrench the occupation (is that even debatable anymore?), he believes
that Palestinians “should not be denied the opportunity to take their
national destiny into their own hands.” All we have to do is pretend we don’t see what’s been
happening on the ground – in the West Bank and Gaza, and with the incredibly
steep rise in popularity of fascist parties within Israel. Maybe dragging on the peace process for another fifteen years will lead to even more “remarkable progress.”
There is no doubt others saw through Peres's doublespeak as well. It is only because Israel has made the two-state solution impossible that people are looking for alternatives. It's because of the the expansion of the occupation through the Oslo years, the increasing threats towards Israel's Palestinian citizens and the fact that refugees are still waiting for justice after over 60 years that the one-state solution is gaining in popularity. Peres might think the obtuse references to Singapore will put people at ease, but Israel's own policies are leading more and more people to ask questions.
Ali Abunimah responded to the article by saying, "It's fantastic that they had to roll out Peres in order to defend the two-state solution. They are on the defensive at this level and we have barely even started. It's all crumbling."
For a long time Israel's supporters just ignored the idea of equality and justice in Israel/Palestine. Then they dismissed the idea of one democratic state as utopian or unrealistic, barely worthy or a reply. Now they are starting to fight it. What comes next may be up to all of us. (Adam Horowitz)
