We are still in times where speaking about a single democratic and secular state in Israel-Palestine is considered contentious. Just look how former Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg was received at a liberal synagogue in NY, when he spoke about this concept – Rabbi Matalon called him a “troublemaker”, and rabbi Cohen said he “pushed all the buttons”.
But today, a new foundation is officially launching – the One State Foundation, which boldly and clearly promotes this concept and goal.
Full disclosure – I am an advisory board member. The team is a serious one, with many strong capacities – Palestinians, Israelis and internationals who share the bold one-state vision. These three board members represent this spectrum:
- Hamada Jaber, who was born in Jerusalem in 1983. He studied Business Administration at the Arab American University in Jenin and holds a master’s degree in Peacekeeping & Security Studies from Roma Tre University in Italy. He is a political activist and participated in dozens of political conferences and workshops. Hamada currently works for the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR).
- Ofer Neiman, a Jewish Israeli citizen from Jerusalem/Al-Quds. He has been active in various groups for justice and equality for the Palestinian people. He is currently an active supporter of the BDS Movement. He regularly publishes opinion pieces or translations on outlets such as Mondoweiss and +972.
- Angélique Eijpe, a Dutch diplomat currently on an extended leave in order to support the establishment of the Foundation. Over the past 25 years she regularly lived, worked and studied within the Palestinian Territories and Israel and worked on Dutch foreign policy on the conflict for a number of years after she joined the Dutch Foreign Service in 2002. Directly prior to that she lived in Hebron for a year and a half, working for the Temporary International Presence in the city, initially as an observer, later on as the legal adviser of the organization.
Here is our press release announcing the foundation:
Launch of The One State Foundation: a new Palestinian-Israeli initiative to grow debate and support for a one state solution
Jerusalem, March 1, 2018 – After over 70 years of conflict, 50 years of occupation and close to 25 years of a detrimental and counterproductive peace process it is more urgent than ever to pursue a path to a genuine and all-encompassing solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The One State Foundation launches publicly today with an agenda to broaden debate and ultimately support for a one state solution.
The One State Foundation acknowledges the one state reality that has been in place for over 50 years and aims to have this reality transformed to one in which all people living under the control of the same state have the same civil, political and socio-economic rights and opportunities regardless of their ethnicity or religion. In order for a one state reality to materialize, acknowledging and repairing past and present injustices, among them the right of return, is crucial.
The One State Foundation is an initiative of individual Palestinians, Israelis and internationals who share the conviction that a one state solution is the only available all-encompassing and therefore genuine solution to the conflict. As Hamada Jaber, co-founder and board members states; “We should stop wasting our time and the time of future generations and immediately start investing all our efforts in the only solution; the one state solution. There is already significant support for such a solution in both communities, varying between 30 to 40 percent according to some recent surveys. This despite the fact that no official body or political party on either side has adopted the one state vision, nor does any explicit support for such solution exist within the international community. Should this change, popular support for the one state vision will surely further increase. In addition, I trust the international community can play a crucial role by changing their current policy and funding, which in fact enables and supports the continuation of the de-facto apartheid reality. Instead, it could invest in supporting equal rights for all, thereby standing in true solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people and ultimately supporting a brighter future for all.”
Jeff Halper, one of the advisory board members adds; “It is time to recognize that Israel has unilaterally and irreversibly created one country between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. Our task is clear: to transform that apartheid state into a democratic if multicultural state of all its citizens.”
Angélique Eijpe, co-founder and board member addresses the challenge taken on by the foundation as follows; “Envisioning a true and all-encompassing solution is for many – understandably, given the reality – more difficult than embracing some form of ‘managing the conflict’. What we have to keep in mind is that it is not practical impediments that make the realization of one state impossible. It is first and foremost a question of psychology and mindset. Can we make people see, emotionally feel and rationally understand that a shared future in equality is in the end beneficial for all? That is the challenge we are taking on.”
Expect to hear/read the usual whining from zios who will claim this is meant to deny Jews their right to self determination.Never mind that their right to self determination comes at the price of denying the Palestinians their rights.
The 1SS is way past due and given that Israel has contributed so much effort in creating a One State .then we should all help them in their efforts.
Thank you Angelique and Jonathan for setting out the only stall left in the I/P conflict and good luck with your Foundation. The single state is quite simply the only way forward and as your initiative shows the acceptance of this is gaining traction with each new settler unit built in the O/T.
Some Israelis are just blind to this fact or are too frightened to address reality so they just look the other way with regards to the O/T situation.
Some Israelis know that the 2SS was is and will continue to be a basic ploy to maintain the Apartheid status quo but are so arrogant and so certain of continued US support and European hesitation that they will simply carry on as is.
A minority of Israelis realise that the 1SS is now inevitable and would want to make the landing as soft as possible. As the extreme right dig in further these Israelis will have a stark choice – either to dig in and fight on or admit to a losing battle and get out of the unholy mess which their country has become.
The writing is on the wall for the so called “Nation State of the Jewish People” which will go down as just another stain in the history of humanity with a particular depraved twist in that it was a catalogue of oppression and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by members of a religious community who themselves had suffered so horrendously from savage oppression and ethnic cleansing in the recent past.
“What we have to keep in mind is that it is not practical impediments that make the realization of one state impossible. It is first and foremost a question of psychology and mindset. Can we make people see, emotionally feel and rationally understand that a shared future in equality is in the end beneficial for all? That is the challenge we are taking on.”
Agreed – this is an amazing development and desperately needed!!!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHACNQetGpwLr31vkEQR7rg
Here in the U.S., this week the media have been marking the 50th anniversary of the release of the report of the Kerner Commission, or officially the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. Every source reporting on it includes the report’s most famous sentence: “Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white — separate and unequal.” And every commentator agrees that this is a bad outcome. Progress is measured by the degree to which this outcome is being avoided.
And not a moment too soon.