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Why a One-State Solution Is Impractical
(Wall Street Journal) Walter Russell Mead - Some argue that the only moral choice to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a single state where all the inhabitants of former British Palestine (modern Israel, Gaza and the West Bank) enjoy equal rights. Superficially appealing, the one-state solution is both wildly impractical and grossly unjust. More than a century of conflict hasn't prepared two different peoples to live harmoniously in a single state. In addition, Israel, a regional superpower enjoying unprecedented friendly relations with the most powerful Arab states, won't voluntarily surrender its sovereignty no matter how many American colleges pass boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) resolutions. To argue that the Jewish state must continually earn the right to exist by satisfying its moral critics and political opponents is absurd. People criticize Chinese actions in Xinjiang and Tibet without saying that those misdeeds deprive the Chinese people of the right to a state of their own. The writer, a fellow at the Hudson Institute, is Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College.