Two State Solutionism

Rick Richman, Commentary Magazine May 25, 2009

Jeffrey Goldberg has written amusingly about his susceptibility to “solutionism” - the “American national religion, which holds that for every intractable problem there is a logical and available answer.” The related faith-based belief system known as two-state solutionism (the conviction that a Palestinian state would live side by side with Israel in peace and security, because — well it just will) increasingly depends on “explainawayism” - which holds that for every Palestinian rejection of a second state there is a logical and available reason why it was Israel’s fault.

Goldberg’s review of Benny Morris’s “One State, Two States: Resolving the Israel/Palestine Conflict” in today’s New York Times Book Review contains some unfortunate examples of explainawayism. He criticizes the view of “the Morris camp” that the rocket fire following Israel’s Gaza withdrawal was another instance of unyielding Arab rejectionism. In Goldberg’s view, the problem was that Ariel Sharon should have “negotiated” it with the PA, which would then “have been able to prove to its constituents that it could extract concessions from Israel.”

The disengagement may not have been “negotiated” with the PA, but it was certainly coordinated with it and gave it the opportunity to demonstrate it was ready for a state. Six months after agreeing to the Roadmap, Mahmoud Abbas had bragged to the Palestinian legislature that he had resisted American and Israel pressure to start dismantling terrorist groups. In response, Israel announced it would dismantle all 21 Gaza settlements (not merely “outposts”) and turn over Gaza to the PA to enable it to demonstrate its ability (or inability) to live side by side in peace security. Haaretz reported on September 14, 2005 that:

Abbas, in honor of the completion of the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip . . . declared, “From this day forth, there will be no more security turmoil and weapons chaos and abductions, which are not characteristic of our culture.” . . . .

Palestinian Minister Mohammed Dahlan, who was in charge of coordinating the withdrawal, said the Palestinians were ready to deal with any scenario . . . .

In less than a week, former synagogues were burned, greenhouses were destroyed, borders were breached, munitions were imported, and rockets and tunnels into Israel followed. Four months later, the Palestinians elected the group responsible for this to control their government.

Benny Morris’s book is an extremely valuable account, going back 90 years, of the history of one- and two-state solutions, which puts events such as the failure of the disengagement into a useful historical context. Goldberg acknowledges the facts, but retains his faith in two-state solutionism, ending his review with this conclusion:

This is not to overlook the great dysfunction among the Palestinians, whose national liberation movement remains, 89 years since the third Palestine Arab Congress, bloody-minded and incompetent. Gaza, after all, is currently ruled by a cult that sanctifies murder-suicide. But there are many Palestinians on the West Bank, and even in Gaza, who reject the Hamas way and seek dignity and quiet within the framework of an independent state that coexists with Israel.

In other words: Arab two-state rejectionism is now in its ninth decade, with a bloody-minded “national liberation” movement focused more on destroying its neighbor than creating a state, with a political system split between a party characterized by incompetence - a better word would probably be corruption - and a cult that was elected into office, with pervasive societal sanctification of murder-suicide, which turned Gaza into a terrorist state and would probably win a West Bank election today, but [insert explainawayism here].

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9 Responses to “Two State Solutionism” 1 fuster Says: May 24th, 2009 at 2:26 PM

Many of the things that Goldberg writes are amusing, in an inept, poorly-researched and argued sort of way.

2 Albert Schwartz Says: May 24th, 2009 at 3:25 PM

Both Hamas and Fatah support a two-state solution as long as one of the states is not Israel.

3 Maine's Michael Says: May 24th, 2009 at 3:32 PM

More soft racism of diminished expectations. The arabs always have an explainable (and, seemingly, acceptable) reason why they cannot be expected to keep their word, actually give up terrorism, give up anti-semitic propaganda in their media, or even accept the principle of a Jewsih state, even as they demand a Judenrein state in the heart of the ancestral Jewish homeland.

Sad that Goldberg seems to push some of this.

Perhaps that was the quid pro quo for getting his piece into the NYTIMES?

Nah . . .

At least Morris, in his old age, had seen the errors of his decades of damage to the Jewish cause of self preservation in a hostile world.

Thank you, Rick, for this piece.

4 Morry Rotenberg Says: May 24th, 2009 at 4:03 PM

There is already a Palestinian state, it’s called Jordan. Does anyone think that the Hashemite Kingdom will last another generation? The two state solution-ism is just a charade on both sides to keep getting aide from their respective benefactors.

5 Maine's Michael Says: May 24th, 2009 at 4:25 PM

Both sides?

Hardly.

The US aid to ISrael is economically inconsequential as far as Israel is concerned. It provides endless fuel for antisemites and anti-Israel folks (assuming there is a distinction).

Somehow, it is either a security blanket, or some sort of umbilical cord as far as the Israelis are concerned, that they are loath to give up.

As far as the US is concerned, it seems to act more as a leash.

6 Seth M. Says: May 24th, 2009 at 6:28 PM

I like Goldberg.

But when he calls Hamas a “cult that sanctifies murder-suicide” while suggesting peace with Fatah is close at hand, I sometimes wonder about his rose-colored glasses. Presumably Fatah is not quite as “cult”-like as Hamas, because it most assuredly sanctifies murder-suicide, so the distinction doesn’t lie there.

I’m a lot younger than Benny Morris but I went through the same transition in viewpoint with the outbreak of the Second Intifada. He’s probably a lot more correct than Goldberg is on the prospect for the future in the near term. Someone has to have hope, though, right?

7 BD57 Says: May 24th, 2009 at 6:29 PM

“But there are many Palestinians on the West Bank, and even in Gaza, who reject the Hamas way and seek dignity and quiet within the framework of an independent state that coexists with Israel.”

They would seem to be a very small minority who seek dignity & quiet by - well, being quiet (in a dignified way) about their desire to coexist with Israel.

The issue isn’t that there are no Palestinians interested in true peace, it is that there aren’t enough of them.

8 Maine's Michael Says: May 24th, 2009 at 6:48 PM

As long as the mythical Ancient and Noble Palestinian who seeks peace exists, even if only in the imagination of Israel’s enemies and detractors, Israel will be denied the completion of its Wars of Foundation - without which the ‘palestinians’ will remain forever an albatross about the neck of the Jews.

It is so comforting for many in the world to see in the palestinians another Jesus, and original sin form which their is no escape other than national suicide.

9 Observer X Says: May 24th, 2009 at 9:43 PM

For any country to survive it has to expand. Peace process is only a tactic for arabs to expand and destroy Israel.

Two State Solutionism

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