OPINION: Neither Israelis nor Palestinians are going anywhere
Donald Trump has given an air of legitimacy to Kahanism, argues New Israel Fund's Shira Ben Sasson Ferstenberg
President Trump’s “plan” for Gaza marks a moral low and a turning point in Israeli political discourse. The plan may be an unworkable fantasy, but its impact could be devastating. President Trump’s move gives legitimacy to previously unacceptable ideas. He did what no Israeli prime minister has dared, and what the Israeli Supreme Court forbade: he gave public legitimacy to Kahanism. As with the failed annexation raised at the end of his previous term, forcible transfer is now on the table.
Those who have ignored the Palestinians for years cannot wash their hands of the disaster of the past year and a half; those who continue to ignore it will bring us further disasters. Israeli cheerleaders for this “plan” should be cautious given the damage this delusional suggestion will do to the hostages and their families.
The potential for harm is magnified by the collective trauma of the 7 October attacks and the ensuing war. The public is searching for solutions to their insecurity and the questions among Jews and Arabs about our shared future. After so much death and destruction, after the testimonies of the victims and the kidnapped, there is a temptation to pursue magical solutions. It is convenient to think American soldiers, or the Gulf states, will make the problems we face disappear. The fantasy of the other side disappearing is morally dangerous and prevents us from developing real solutions.
At the New Israel Fund, we work with politically diverse groups advocating pragmatic steps towards a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Among our partners are Commanders for Israel’s Security, Mitvim, Berl Katznelson Foundation, the Forum for Regional Thinking and A Land For All. Considered credible ideas include the Israeli Initiative and ‘The day after is now’.
It is precisely at moments like these that brave realistic leadership is needed, one that will not feed illusions but offer instead a moral sober view
Another partner, aChord, shows that most Israelis understand what President Trump does not: that regional diplomacy is the only safe and just way to end this conflict. Their polling found that 60 percent of the public (and 84 percent of opposition voters) prefer Trump promotes a regional-political-security arrangement with normalisation with Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, and a Palestinian state, over full annexation of the West Bank.
It is precisely at moments like these that brave, realistic leadership is needed, one that will not feed illusions but offer instead a moral, sober view: Israelis and the Palestinians are not going anywhere.
The sooner we learn to compromise, the better off we will all be. A society that adopts practices of ethnic cleansing, even if under the pretext of “economic development,” will be a bad place to live. The more we recognise the humanity of those who live next to us and with us, the better we will be among ourselves.
Support for Trump’s proposal by some Israeli politicians reflects a dangerous confusion between short-term calculations and genuine public interests. We are desperate for vision and realism. We require leaders who know how to say, even in this painful and difficult moment, that the solution to the crisis in Gaza, as well as to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, must be based on principles of justice, security and mutual respect.
Herein lies one possible positive of Trump’s dangerous statement. The ideas he promotes are so far-fetched, so disconnected from reality, they remind us that salvation will not come from the other side of the world. The future of all the inhabitants of this country depends first and foremost on us, Israelis and Palestinians, working together for a safer sharing of this precious land we both call home.
- Shira Ben Sasson Furstenberg is New Israel Fund’s Asssociate Director based in Jerusalem
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