One of the strongest arguments of the Zionist Left is based on the very principles that lie at the foundation of Zionist nationalism and the right to self-determination.
The Zionist Left argues that Zionism doesn't just allow for the creation of a Palestinian state, it mandates it.
How so? If Zionism is based on the universal belief in the righteousness of nationalism and in the right to self-determination of all nations, including the Jewish nation, how can a true Zionist be opposed to this same right when it comes to the Palestinian people? This argument is quite convincing, especially to all those who seek in Zionism some universal values that transcend the traditional Jewish attachment to the Land of Israel.
However, this argument is also based on some flawed assumptions that need to be deconstructed.
Are the Palestinians really a nation?
Historically, the idea of a Palestinian nation is very new.
For some time, Palestine was merely a geographical area - not a national identity. There were Palestinian Arabs, Palestinian Beduin and Palestinian Jews. These terms simply referred to Arabs, Beduin or Jews living in the geographical region of Palestine.
James L. Gelvin writes in his book The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War: "Palestinian nationalism emerged during the inter-war period, in response to Zionist immigration and settlement." In fact, Jerusalem mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini, who had ties to Nazi Germany, purposely developed the feeling of Palestinian nationalism.
As historian Bernard Lewis postulates: "The rewriting of the past is usually undertaken to achieve specific political aims."
One argument is that the history of Palestinian nationalism is not very important; if Palestinian nationalism exists today, then that is what matters.
This would be true if we did not have modern evidence of Palestinians not identifying as a separate nation, but rather seeing themselves as part of the Arab nation and specifically denying any real Palestinian nationalism.
Indeed, on March 31, 1977, Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein, in which he said: "The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the State of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality, today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct ‘Palestinian people' to oppose Zionism."
Even the Palestinian National Charter starts with this article: "Article 1 - The Palestinian people are an integral part of the Arab nation."
Moreover, Balad Party founder Azmi Bishara, an Israeli Arab, stated in an interview: "Well, I don't think there is a Palestinian nation at all; I think there is an Arab nation. I always thought so, and I have not changed my mind."
Are all nations entitled to a state?
Even if we were to take as a basic assumption that the Palestinian nation was real, and if we were to give every group of people the right to spontaneously declare themselves a nation, does this mean that all nations have a right to a state? To answer this, we should first look at the context in which this question is being asked, among numerous groups with a much more convincing claim to nationhood which are nevertheless deprived of their right to a state. The Kurds are the clearest example of this.
Still, while this context clearly begs the question as to why the world is so obsessed with the claims of Palestinians for statehood, an injustice performed against a third party does not justify an injustice performed against a group of people.
