Daily Times

At the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee meeting on October 27, the Israeli Prime Minister (PM) declared, “I do not want a bi-national state.” He further went on to say: “I am asked if we will forever live by the sword. Yes.” While his words may please the hawks within Israel his words run contrary to the state’s proclamation of independence and are a recipe for permanent feud.
The proclamation states: “The state of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the ingathering of the exiles. It will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants, it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel, it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex, it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture, it will safeguard the holy places of all religions and it will be faithful to the principles of the charter of the United Nations. We appeal — in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months — to the Arab inhabitants of the state of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the up building of the state on the basis of full and equal citizenship, and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.”
Full and equal citizenship, which was the right of the Palestinians as per the declaration of independence, was never granted to them and those physically residing in Israel hold the status of ‘permanent resident’ of the state of Israel, the same status granted to foreign citizens who have freely chosen to come to Israel and who want to live there. This makes these Palestinian Arabs immigrants living in their homes at the beneficence of the authorities and not by right. Netanyahu has now raised the possibility of revoking even Israeli residency for some East Jerusalem Palestinians during a recent security cabinet meeting as reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
A leader should have the capacity to mould public opinion, not be its hostage. If Netanyahu considers himself to be one, he needs to reinvent his own thinking and realise how a state founded on the right to return for all Jews exiled forcibly over centuries, could deny the same right to its Palestinian Arabs made refugees or exiles in the recent past by its own actions. He needs to realise that Israel cannot justify its claims from its own perspective if it chooses to treat any non-Jewish group that inhabited its land differently.
Branding the exodus of the Arab Palestinians as ‘willing’ is not going to evaporate the problem. It is just an illusion to try to satisfy the conscience that resides within all human beings. Even modern day Israeli historians have started looking at this exodus objectively and admitting the partial involvement of intimidation and fear. Denying the right to return and Israeli citizenship to the Arab Palestinians of the West Bank and East Jerusalem is discrimination. It negates the very basis of Israel’s creation i.e. the right of refugees to return. You cannot forever live by the sword. First, Mr Netanyahu will need to think objectively and then will come the difficult task of making his supporters his true followers.
The absentee property laws of Israel have ensured the viability of Israel in the medium term by providing land and property to immigrant settlers. However, the long-term good of the state of Israel rests on the equal treatment of all who have the inalienable right to reside in the land irrespective of their ethnicity or religion. Sharing the fruits of Israel’s economic success with all who should have the right to be its citizens will bring long-term benefits to the state. Whether Netanyahu wants it or not, a bi-national state is the way forward from the Israeli perspective if he considers the country’s declaration of independence worthier than the paper it was signed on.
Living in fear should not be the future of the children of the region. It needs to be understood that freedom, justice and equality cannot be maintained in isolation. The current generations are not answerable for what may have been done centuries ago but are indeed answerable for what they do today. It is their actions today that will carve out their future. It is up to them to make it mutually prosperous. It is imperative that both sides show wisdom and take action for the common good.

The writer can be reached at thelogicalguy@yahoo.com