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IT’S TIME FOR AMERICAN JEWS TO RECOGNIZE A PALESTINIAN STATE  
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Rob Eshman
May 23, 2024
Forward
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_ There’s one question that should guide nations — or you, — in
deciding whether to recognize a Palestinian state: Will doing so bring
Israel and Palestinians closer to peace, or not? Recognition will help
ensure a strong future for the Jewish people. _

Spanish President Pedro Sanchez (R) and Irish Prime Minister Simon
Harris speak to the press after an April meeting in Dublin at which
they expressed willingness to endorse a Palestinian state., Photo by
Moncloa // Forward

 

There’s one question that should guide nations — or you, or anyone
— in deciding whether to recognize a Palestinian state: Will doing
so bring Israel and Palestinians closer to peace, or not?

Given the state of the conflict, I give the argument to Team
Recognition. It’s time for American Jews to recognize the State of
Palestine.

The do-or-die importance of not recognizing the state of Palestine has
become an article of faith among mainstream Jewish groups, and thus,
among mainstream American Jews. But like most articles of faith, it
begs scrutiny. And following Spain, Norway and Ireland’s Wednesday
announcement
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they will recognize Palestinian statehood — which earned instant
condemnation
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the government of Israel — it’s clear that scrutiny is more
important than ever.

I didn’t always support the preemptive recognition of an independent
Palestinian state. In the aftermath of the 1993 Oslo Accords
[[link removed]], withholding
recognition in order to encourage a continued peace process made a
kind of sense, because Yasser Arafat, then the chairman of the
Palestinian Liberation Organization, could have pocketed the
achievement of recognition without making any meaningful concessions
to Israel, or accomplishing any lasting gains for Palestinians. 

What’s changed? 

Most importantly: Benjamin Netanyahu. In his 16 total years as
Israel’s prime minister, Netanyahu has consistently opposed the
two-state solution. You can’t use recognition of a Palestinian state
as a carrot when Israel’s leader is only interested in sticks. 

That’s the logic Norway’s government employed this week, when, in
announcing its recognition, it emphasized the goal of a two-state
solution.

“In the midst of a war, with tens of thousands killed and
injured,” said Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre
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“we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political
solution for Israelis and Palestinians alike: Two states, living side
by side, in peace and security.”

That’s a key point. Recognition is a blow to Hamas and its
supporters who don’t want a Palestinian state beside Israel, but a
Palestinian state _instead_ of Israel. 

Recognition creates a political pathway beyond war at a time when
Israel’s own Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, has publicly accused
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of having no inkling of one. Gaza is in ruins, but recognition sends a
message to Palestinians that the world is actively seeking an
alternative to Israel’s open-ended occupation of the West Bank, to
the cynical Hamas leadership that sparked this destructive cycle of
conflict, and to the prospect of Israel asserting long-term control in
Gaza. 

Of the United Nations’ 193 member countries, 143 have recognized
[[link removed].] Palestine, five
of them
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Oct. 7. Spain, Norway and Ireland’s recognition adds particular
political and moral heft to that number because most Western
governments, following U.S. policy, have resisted doing so. 

It’s time for American Jews to take the message and reverse that old
taboo about recognizing a Palestinian state. After all, the majority
of American Jews support Israel, and recognition is a clear,
nonviolent way to spur a negotiating process that could help ensure
Israel’s long term survival. 

And recognition aligns with the goals of the plurality of American
Jews, 46% of whom believe a two-state solution is the best possible
outcome to the conflict, according to a Feb. 2024 Pew survey
[[link removed](46%25)%20and,country%20with%20an%20Israeli%20government.].
(20% favor a one-state option, and 22% hope for Israel to control all
the land between the river and the sea.) 

The counterargument that Israel’s leaders have put forth is that
recognizing Palestinians rewards violence. “The countries that
recognized a Palestinian state today are giving a reward to murderers,
kidnappers and persecutors,” Israel’s National Security minister
Itamar Ben Gvir said
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That argument would have more weight if Israel supported recognition
in times when terrorism subsided. But in 2013, when the number of
Palestinian terror acts
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at their lowest point in a decade, Netanyahu actually became, in the
words of analyst Barak Ravid
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“more hawkish than ever,” adding a new demand that Palestinians
recognize Israel as a Jewish state. 

In reality, violence has never been a deal-breaker for independence or
statehood, anywhere in the world. Often, it’s been a prerequisite.
Terror committed by Jews against British colonizers sped up the
withdrawal of the British from Mandatory Palestine. And Ben Gvir
himself, who openly supported the violent Kach movement, is a poster
boy for success-through-violence. 

Besides, if Israelis can use the excuse that recognition rewards
violence, Palestinians can claim that compromise with Israel rewards
occupation. Better to brush aside these fears, or pretenses, and focus
on what next steps would be effective. 

American Jews aren’t Norway, Spain or Ireland, so what exactly would
recognition look like? Individually and collectively, it means
conveying to our leaders that we support a State of Palestine
alongside a State of Israel, and now is the time to use what leverage
America has to achieve it.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden once again rejected
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idea of recognizing a Palestinian state apart from a negotiated
settlement.  By recognizing a Palestinian state, American Jews would
encourage the President to be bolder in pursuing the fast-disappearing
option of a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 
Such a move doesn’t reward violence; it punishes rejectionism. If
you believe in a future in which Israel is able to maintain peace and
security, it’s time for you to realize that recognizing a
Palestinian state is good for the Jews.

_[ROB ESHMAN is a senior columnist for the Forward. Follow him on
Instagram @foodaism [[link removed]] and
Twitter @foodaism [[link removed]] or
email [email protected].]_

* Israel
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* Palestine
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* State of Palestine
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* Palestinian State
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* Israel-Palestine
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* Jewish community
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* American Jewish community
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* zionism
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* Oct. 7
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* Hostages
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* Hamas
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* apartheid
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* Genocide
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* Occupied Territories
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* Gaza
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* West Bank
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* Jewish settlements
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* Benjamin Netanyahu
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