On the Concept of the Two State Solution

The concept of the so-called "Two State Solution" is that of two states, one Jewish and one Arab, living peacefully side by side in the Middle East. Although the name itself is a relatively recently contrived political shorthand, Israeli leadership has been proposing solutions to the Arab-Israeli conflict predicated on this notion from the early 20s up to the present day. In turn, such proposals are historically always rejected by Arab leadership, which instead then chooses to wage a war of some form or another to "wipe Israel off the map."

Meanwhile, in the middle of the UC Berkeley campus, I was walking along when I came upon the display of a student group called "Students for Justice in Palestine" consisting of an eight-foot-tall board of wood cut into the shape of Israel, but painted completely in the colors of the Palestinian flag. Israel, it appeared, had literally been wiped off the map.

Student opinion is both a reflection of societal opinion at large and an indication of what societal opinion at large will be in the coming generations, since today's students are tomorrow's societal movers and shakers. And today's young representatives of Palestinian nationalism on campus are evidently not truly concerned with acting for "justice in Palestine." This, of course, would entail calling for an end to the Palestinians' corrupt leadership, which steals all foreign aid meant for the people, and an end to Palestinian society's encouragement of child suicide bombing and other forms of violence. Instead, Palestinian student activists call for Israel's destruction, just like Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon did on the eve of the founding of the modern state of Israel, just like Hamas, Osama Bin Laden and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continue to do.

The Jews have always been a hopeful people; after all, they kept the hope alive that they would see a large-scale return to their homeland of Israel for two thousand years. However, as long as the Jews continue to propose a two-state solution while the Arabs continue to believe in a one-state solution-that is, one Arab state (amongst a plethora of other Arab states) and no Jewish state--the Jewish hope for peace may similarly continue for another two thousand years, or, chas v'shalom, until Israel is destroyed by its enemies.