Beyond the Two-State Solution: A Jewish Political Essay

by Yehouda Shenhav, DIMI Reider (Translator)

For over two decades, many liberals in Israel have attempted, with wide international support, to implement the two-state Israel and Palestine, partitioned on the basis of the Green Line - that is, the line drawn by the 1949 Armistice Agreements that defined Israel’s borders until 1967, before Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza following the Six-Day War. By going back to Israel’s pre-1967 borders, many people hope to restore Israel to what they imagine was its pristine, pre-occupation character and to provide a solid basis for a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  In this original and controversial essay, Yehouda Shenhav argues that this vision is an illusion that ignores historical realities and offers no long-term solution. It fails to see that the real problem is that a state was created in most of Palestine in 1948 in which Jews are the privileged ethnic group, at the expense of the Palestinians - who also must live under a constant state of emergency. The issue will not be resolved by the two-state solution, which will do little for the millions of Palestinian refugees and will also require the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of Jews living across the Green Line. All these obstacles require a bolder rethinking of the the Green Line should be abandoned and a new type of polity created on the complete territory of mandatory Palestine, with a new set of constitutional arrangements that address the rights of both Palestinians and Jews, including the settlers.

265 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 14, 2012

Reviews

[Sura jbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

בספר זה יהודה מפנה אותנו לשתי נקודות חשובות שהשפיעו על היווצרות ההיסטוריה בישראל ועל הקונפליקט פלסטיני- ישראלי.
לפי החלוקה הדיכוטומית שנהב חילק את הזמן לשני תקופות, הנכבה ב- 1948 וההגירה הפלסטינית מארץ מולדתם על ידי כיבוש אדמתם, והמתיחות בשנת 1967 וכל עניין החלוקה והכיבוש שהיה.
לפי דעתו של שנהב לא נוכל להבין את הקונפליקט הזה מבלי שנחזור למרחב והזמן של הנכבה ב 1948 ומבלי שנקשר את שני המקרים לא נוכל להבין את התהלכות העניינים.
בסוף הוא מנסה לתת פתרונות אחת מהם: מדינה דו לאומית והציג את טענותיו לגבי החסרונות והדברים החיובים הכרוכים באלטרנטיבה זו.
מודל שני הוא: שתי מדינות שוכנות זו לצד זו בקיצור פתרון שתי המדינות, וגם כאן מציג חסרונות ויתרונות.

[George · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best part of this deeply liberal Zionist book is the foreword by Palestinian Lama Abu Odeh, in which she ever so politely destroys everything that is about to follow. Fantastic. Shenhav has been described as a "gateway drug" for liberal Zionists beginning on the path to one state redemption. In this regard, perhaps it serves some purpose.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not being an expert on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict by any means I found this book an interesting perspective on the problem. The two key points he makes, which suggest a two state solution is completely unachievable are these:
a) The 1967 borders don't really resolve the issues fundamentally for the Palestinians as before then many thousands of them had been evicted from their homes by the Haganah and were either refugees in Israel or other countries.
b) The "facts on the ground" are that there are hundreds of thousands of settlers in the West Bank and surely it is not feasible or moral to uproot them and make them leave.
It is difficult to disagree with these two propositions.
Perhaps if b) hadn't happened a two-state solution might have been a viable proposition, though perhaps on different terms than offered before (i.e. with Palestine with full control of airspace, with military etc.).
I don't doubt for a second that the rest of Shenhav's suggestions about a bi-national state may be unworkable or unrealistic. In particular, to me it seems that there is such enmity there it is difficult to see many Israelis and Palestinians being able to tolerate living in a bi-national state. So I ended the book feeling pessimistic about any long-term solution at all. Perhaps the Israelis might think a bit more creatively about it if given a push by Uncle Sam, but that seems rather unlikely.