For Mideast peace, focus first on human rights, not two states
Two states for two peoples has been the centerpiece of American foreign policy in the Middle East for so long, it can seem like the only reasonable and viable answer to the Israel/Palestine conflict. The American penchant for fairness would seem to dictate both a national home for the Jewish people, especially in the wake of the Holocaust, and a national home for the Palestinian people, who were, after all, the indigenous majority before Zionist migration in the 20th century.
But “the two-state solution” increasingly functions more as a symbol of a bygone consensus than as a realistic guide in the current crisis. Facts on the ground have changed the map, expanding the Israeli footprint while shrinking the Palestinian footprint. Current realities have emptied “the two-state solution” of any real significance.
During its General Assembly in Portland, Oregon, this week, the Presbyterian Church (USA) will be asked to act on a report titled “Israel-Palestine: For Human Values in the Absence of a Just Peace.” The report offers a realistic, if heartbreaking, assessment of the situation on the ground, documenting rapidly deteriorating conditions.
The Israeli government has accelerated illegal Jewish-only settlement construction on Palestinian land in the West Bank. More and more Palestinian families are being forced out of their homes in East Jerusalem and replaced with Jewish families. Significant numbers of the current Israeli Cabinet publicly oppose any kind of Palestinian state. With the recent shakeup in the Israeli Cabinet, the Netanyahu government has moved further to the right, and anti-Palestinian rhetoric has escalated.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has warned that the current Israeli government is “infected by the seeds of fascism.” The Oslo process has collapsed. A growing number of Palestinians in the West Bank are profoundly disillusioned with the Palestinian Authority, and there is deep despair in Gaza. Palestinian rage at Israeli domination and oppression simmers just beneath the surface, occasionally erupting in frightening outbursts that alarm Israelis and lead to heightened anxiety and tightened security measures.
The report notes: “For years, abstract discussion of two- vs. one-state solutions of federations has served to distract attention from ongoing violations of human rights and increases in mutual hostility.” The most pressing issues before us now are the daily violations of human rights, the distrust engendered by such violations and the toxic atmosphere that is poisoning the futures of Israelis and Palestinians alike.
Leading to new territory
Accordingly, the report refrains from unimaginatively reiterating the framework of “the two-state solution,” and instead neither endorses nor rejects it. Alternatively, it leads us into new territory and offers us a new place to stand. It wisely seeks to reframe our understanding of the issues by refocusing on “human values,” on the human rights of all parties in the conflict.
When the settlements are rapidly destroying any physical possibility of a Palestinian state, when the Netanyahu government seems intent on rendering such a state impossible and when the occupation shows no signs of ending, what is the point of clinging to a “two-state solution”?
If repeating the nostrum of “two-state solution” is no longer helpful or realistic, what can faith-based organizations and secular organizations devoted to the security and well-being of both the Israelis and Palestinians do? They can do everything within their power to safeguard the dignity and human rights of all persons.
Whatever solution emerges, it stands a chance of fulfilling the dreams and aspirations of both peoples only if it is built on a foundation of respect for the dignity and human rights of all. Conversely, without an end to the flagrant violations of international law, including but not limited to the occupation of the West Bank, there will never be justice. And where there is no justice, there can never be peace.
The Rev. J. Mark Davidson serves as pastor of the Church of Reconciliation (Presbyterian Church USA) in Chapel Hill. He spent part of his boyhood in Lebanon and is a member of the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the PC(USA).
This story was originally published June 21, 2016 at 4:31 PM with the headline "For Mideast peace, focus first on human rights, not two states."