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Is a One-State Solution Completely Implausible?

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November 12, 2015

Daniel Polisar, the Provost of the right-leaning Shalem College in Jerusalem, just published a report titled “What do the Palestinians Want?” (link below) in which he reviews Palestinian attitudes about Israel and Jews.

Israeli polls show the mirror image of Israeli Jewish attitudes about Palestinians.

Meta-surveys suggest that Palestinians don’t think highly of Israelis and Jews, and Israeli Jews don’t have much sympathy for Palestinians.

Alarmed by the Polisar report, I sent it to Noah Efron, the host of TLV1’s “The Promised Podcast” based in Tel Aviv, and suggested that they discuss it on a segment. They obliged, and Noah and his colleagues, Dan Futterman, the head of the Moriah Fund, and Bradley Burston, an Haaretz Journalist (and incidentally, an old friend from my college years at UC Berkeley) addressed the issue in today's (November 12) broadcast.

They discussed, among other things, the agenda of the author of the report, the credibility of the figures, the meaning of the surveys, and what political implications they might augur for the future.

They wondered aloud about the three possibilities facing Israel and the Palestinians  – a two-states for two peoples solution (Is it possible?); a single-state for two peoples (Is it implausible?); and the status-quo (Is it sustainable?)

It ought to be kept in mind as you read and listen that Israelis and Palestinians have lived in stressful times ever since the Rabin assassination twenty years ago. Polls taken during times of violence and heightened anxiety are likely to measure more extreme attitudes than might be the case during more peaceful times. Additionally, the vast majority of the Palestinian population and much of the Israeli Jewish population are under the age of 25 years, and thus have never known times of quiet and peace, so the possibility of co-existence is foreign.

Both Polisar's article and “The Promised Podcast” are worthy of our attention.

What Do Palestinians Want?mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2015/11/what-do-palestinians-want/

The Promised Podcast — “They Really Don’t Like Us!” Edition – (this segment begins at 14 minutes into the Podcast) – http://tlv1.fm/full-show/2015/11/12/the-they-really-dont-like-us-edition/?utm_source=A+View+from+Moriah+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e4f659d8ab-Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5acf0b619c-e4f659d8ab-92533981

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