OPINION: What really happened at the UN last week?

Last week in New York, I sat across the table from three of the ministers who flew in for a UN conference on the two-state solution. What I saw and heard looks nothing like what’s been reported in Israel and the Jewish world.

Our delegation of Israeli and Palestinian civil society leaders sat in the French mission to the UN with UK Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer, German Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Florian Hahn, and our host, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. Barrot passionately explained this new diplomatic process his country is co-leading with Saudi Arabia.

It’s not what you’ve heard. It’s not hostility to Israel they expressed. It’s not “unilateral” recognition of Palestine, a “reward for terror,” a “gift to Hamas,” or any of the other slogans that went mainstream.

Quite the opposite. It’s not only about Palestine. It’s also about Israel and its security. It’s a serious, historic offer. We need to hear it – and engage.

The “New York Declaration” by the entire Arab League, EU, UK, and 16 other nations is unprecedented. In it, they condemn Hamas’ attacks and demand that Hamas release the hostages, disarm, and end its rule. They pledge to recognize and fully integrate Israel. They call for a “democratic… Palestine living side by side, in peace and security with Israel.”

That sentiment was echoed by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, who spoke directly to Israelis, saying: “This conference is a message to the Israeli people. That there’s a path to peace and regional integration…. Palestinians and Israelis are not doomed to be in eternal war. That there is another way… to shared peace, shared security, and shared prosperity…. Not for one at the expense of the other. But for all.”

This isn’t unilateral; it’s regional and multilateral. It’s the most comprehensive and inclusive international commitment to Israel’s security, legitimacy, and regional acceptance that we’ve ever seen.

While the government of Israel refused to attend, thanks to civil society, Israeli voices (and Palestinian ones) were represented. Hundreds of civil society leaders produced dozens of concrete ideas at the preceding civil society conference in Paris, which ALLMEP proudly co-organised. Their proposals fed into the New York discussions and declaration.

In fact, as civil society leaders gathered in Paris, the process produced another achievement: France secured from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a series of key commitments, many of which Israel has long demanded.

Abbas reaffirmed Palestinian recognition of Israel, condemned the October 7 attacks, called for the immediate release of hostages, and demanded that Hamas disarm. He also pledged to end prisoner payments, reform education, hold elections, and accept a demilitarized Palestinian state.

How Israel and the organised Jewish world respond at this turning-point moment could matter even more for Israel’s future than the awful events of the last two years. But so far, the only response has been boycotts and blame, calling the entire exercise a “gift to Hamas.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. A two-state solution is anathema to Hamas because it means recognising and securing Israel. Hamas wants to destroy Israel through violence. The last thing it wants is for its moderate rivals to deliver for their people. Especially if they show that negotiations work, not violence. The success of this process is Hamas’s worst nightmare.

As Foreign Secretary David Lammy said, “Hamas must immediately release the hostages,” disarm, and “have no role in governing Gaza…. But Hamas are not the Palestinian people. And there is no contradiction between support for Israel’s security and support for Palestinian statehood. Indeed, the opposite is true.”

After the trauma of October 7, after the agony and exhaustion of war, Israel needs global Jewry more than ever. Not just to defend it in crisis, but to help it find its way out of crisis. Not just to offer blind solidarity, but to help it cut through the darkness to see clearly, avoid pitfalls, and seize opportunities.

To fulfil this sacred role, we need our eyes wide open. We can’t fall for half-truths. Yes, the UN conference called for a Palestinian state. And it also called for the recognition, integration, and security that Israel has always sought. It called for the very kind of partition plan that I was taught we Jews accepted at every turn.

The New York Declaration will not bring peace on its own, but it is an historic opening—a doorway. If we slam the door shut, we guarantee more of the same grinding tragedy. But if we open the door and even take a cautious step through, we have a chance, just maybe, at the most complete “victory” imaginable.

Over the decades, we have missed too many opportunities. Let’s not miss this one.

Avi Meyerstein is the founder and president of the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP), the coalition of 180+ NGOs building people-to-people cooperation and partnerships between Israelis and Palestinians, Arabs and Jews in the Middle East. The views expressed are his own.