Confederation
The following letter was published in the Jerusalem Post on 7 Sept. 2010:
Sir:
Several articles in the Jerusalem Post comment on the direct talks currently going on in Washington ("Theatre of the Recurred" by Herb Keinon; "Meanwhile on the Right" by Gil Hoffman; "Hopes and fears" by David Horovitz, 3/9/10). However, no one comes up with a really novel idea that is distinct from either the "two state solution" or the "one state solution." I propose a confederation, a State that consists of Israel and Palestine, each governed separately, but that are unified in economic, security and other matters. This would be similar to the States of the US or the countries of the EU. By having such a confederation the right of Palestinians to live in Israel and for Jews to live in Palestine would be reciprocally protected. Of course, this confederation might take some time to develop, and could be joined by Jordan, making a stronger and more equal cultural balance. I owe this idea to Christian Anfinsen, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (1972), who saw clearly that this would answer the needs of the two peoples.
Sincerely
Jack Cohen
Netanya
As indicated in the letter the idea of a confederation between Jewish and Arab mini-states in Palestine was suggested to me by Chris Anfinsen, a wonderful man, a Nobel Laureate, and a devoted convert to Judaism. While it is easy to criticize this idea, and it is an idea that has little basis in current reality, nevertheless what the J. Post was seeking was new thinking and there was precious little of that in the articles cited and others. The idea of a confederation goes beyond the separate mini-states currently being proposed in the "two state" solution, but does not go as far in terms of integration as a "one-state" solution, which could be envisaged as a state in which both sides must coexist. Since that resembles Lebanon, it is not likely to be successful, and the Jews will rightly fear being out-voted or violently attacked by the Palestinian Arabs.
Perhaps the main criticism of such a confederation is that both mini-states, Jewish (Israel) and Palestine (Arab) must be established before they can be joined together. But, certainly Palestine cannot survive without Israeli support, and Israel cannot survive in the long run without satisfying the Palestinian Arabs with a State of their own that will separate them from the Jewish State demographically. In the fulness of time, when Arab antagonism to a Jewish State may be modulated, then perhpas the wisdom of joining together for the betterment of both will become persuasive.
Sir:
Several articles in the Jerusalem Post comment on the direct talks currently going on in Washington ("Theatre of the Recurred" by Herb Keinon; "Meanwhile on the Right" by Gil Hoffman; "Hopes and fears" by David Horovitz, 3/9/10). However, no one comes up with a really novel idea that is distinct from either the "two state solution" or the "one state solution." I propose a confederation, a State that consists of Israel and Palestine, each governed separately, but that are unified in economic, security and other matters. This would be similar to the States of the US or the countries of the EU. By having such a confederation the right of Palestinians to live in Israel and for Jews to live in Palestine would be reciprocally protected. Of course, this confederation might take some time to develop, and could be joined by Jordan, making a stronger and more equal cultural balance. I owe this idea to Christian Anfinsen, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (1972), who saw clearly that this would answer the needs of the two peoples.
Sincerely
Jack Cohen
Netanya
As indicated in the letter the idea of a confederation between Jewish and Arab mini-states in Palestine was suggested to me by Chris Anfinsen, a wonderful man, a Nobel Laureate, and a devoted convert to Judaism. While it is easy to criticize this idea, and it is an idea that has little basis in current reality, nevertheless what the J. Post was seeking was new thinking and there was precious little of that in the articles cited and others. The idea of a confederation goes beyond the separate mini-states currently being proposed in the "two state" solution, but does not go as far in terms of integration as a "one-state" solution, which could be envisaged as a state in which both sides must coexist. Since that resembles Lebanon, it is not likely to be successful, and the Jews will rightly fear being out-voted or violently attacked by the Palestinian Arabs.
Perhaps the main criticism of such a confederation is that both mini-states, Jewish (Israel) and Palestine (Arab) must be established before they can be joined together. But, certainly Palestine cannot survive without Israeli support, and Israel cannot survive in the long run without satisfying the Palestinian Arabs with a State of their own that will separate them from the Jewish State demographically. In the fulness of time, when Arab antagonism to a Jewish State may be modulated, then perhpas the wisdom of joining together for the betterment of both will become persuasive.
posted by Jack Cohen at 8:50 PM
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