Israeli leftist calls for binational state

By Jonah Naghi

JERUSALEM–Dr. Jeff Halper is an American-Israeli anthropologist who is a co-founder and the director of ICAHD (the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions). In an interview he discussed how the approach to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict needs to be reframed. Some of the topics he discussed were the current situation in Gaza, his experience when he was in Gaza in 2008, why the two-state solution is no longer feasible, and why a bi-national state is the most practical approach today.

The Slum:

Halper says Gaza is in one of the biggest “slums” in the world. He references Mike Davis’ book, Planet of Slums in which Davis argues that there are ten levels from prosperity to poverty throughout the world, and Gaza is in one of the worst conditions. Mega-slums, he says, may be found in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and “you have these mega things from China down through South East Asia…Gaza he (Mike Davis) says is one if the major slums.” Halper said he observed this “slum” during his time in Gaza in 2008.

In Gaza:

Halper was the only Israeli on the first boat to break the “siege” on Gaza in 40 years. He said he and his colleagues were welcomed by tens of thousands of Gazans. However, he wanted to emphasize that “the whole idea was not humanitarian…it wasn’t to bring humanitarian aid…it was the break the siege.” But of course, he couldn’t come “empty handed,” so he asked Gazans that if they wanted something, what would they want them to bring. He said they wanted “hearing aids for kids.” He told me that sometimes Israel flies its F-16 jets over Gaza so low that they “break the sound barrier,” sometimes every 3 minutes for over 48 hours. “It’s torture,” Halper says, “and for that alone Israel should be brought before the international criminal court.”

Afterwards, when he wanted to go back home to Jerusalem, his boat had already left for Cyprus and Israeli law says that those who enter Gaza can only exit the way they entered. Therefore, since Halper entered by sea, he could only leave by sea, but he believed nothing bad would happen to him if he went through the Erez crossing because of his Jewish identity. After not letting him in he said, “Fine…there’s a teahouse here, nice people, give me coffee, I’m here! I can stay here weeks, months, years in Gaza.” Twenty-minutes later they called him to let him through, arrested him for one night and then let him go.

A Different Approach:

When discussing the conflict itself, he said Israel has deliberately destroyed the possibility of a two-state solution through its settlement policy. He said he believes Israel is an apartheid state because there is effectively only one government. “There’s only one currency, he says, “…There’s only one water…there’s only one electrical system…it’s apartheid.” Halper warned that this comes at the expense of the American Jewish community and their liberal values. “American Judaism was always defined by social justice and,” he says, so “what does it mean when the center of Jewish life in the world is an apartheid state?”

Ethnic vs. Structural Issue:

Nevertheless, he concluded that the only solution that will bring everyone their civil rights is through a bi-national state. “Think of Canada” with the French and Anglo accords,” he argues, “think of the UK with the Scots…you can have a multi national country where each…passes a good amount of self-determination, their language, universities, and so on.” Many others on the left may take Halper’s assessment as  controversial because, as Dennis Ross says, you don’t understand the Middle East if you don’t understand its ethnic conflicts. The only way to preserve stability in the Middle East is through partition; it’s not the same as in Europe where the British and Scots live together.[1]

UNRWA & Hamas:

Various aspects of our interview were controversial, but in questioning we dwelled longest on the relationship between Hamas and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

I asked about UNRWA and its alleged incitement in its educational system.

Halper argues that UNRWA does not promote incitement through its educational curriculum. He referenced Nurit Peled-Elhanan, a language professor who has looked into UNRWA’s textbooks, and says “there isn’t incitement, it’s a different narrative that we take as incitement…Palestinian point of view is that this is Palestine and Zionism is colonialism. There’s nothing racist in that.”

However, Dr. Arnon Gross, another expert on translating PA textbooks, has emphasized that though there is no explicit reference in UNRWA textbooks to kill Israelis, it is implied through delegitimizing Israel. For example, it teaches that Jews have no right to the land and that Israelis deliberately kill Palestinian children.[2]

I pointed out that many of the officials in Hamas–which is widely considered to be a terrorist organization — are part of the teacher’s union in UNRWA. Halpre laughed saying that Hamas is a Palestinian organization, why shouldn’t they be allowed to run for UNRWA? He also described Hamas as a “pragmatic” political party and is misunderstood. He explains that Hamas sees Israel as a colonial state and therefore they cannot legitimize its right to exist. He concluded with how Hamas has shown flexibility in tolerating Israel’s existence saying that, if Israel and Fatah agree to a two-state solution, that agreement, according to Hamas, “would go to a referendum to all the Palestinians in the world…if that referendum passed on two states we as Hamas…would…respect that as the voice of the Palestinian people.”

I noted that the Hamas charter implies the opposite. In article 11, it states that, ““The Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) believes that the land of Palestine has been an Islamic Waqf …no one can renounce it or part of it…be they Palestinian or Arab.” Thus, not even a Palestinian may renounce a piece of their land. It is possible that Halper confused this with Hamas officials saying they would respect a two-state solution through the will of the Palestinian people in press conferences, which they have stated in the past,[3] but it does not state that in its charter.

In conclusion, Halper is one who believes a bi-national state is the new initiative to take. He argues that we, Jews and supporters of Israel, need to understand the Palestinians’ perspective, like Hamas, in order to resolve the conflict.

*
Naghi, an American student at Clark University, is temporarily based in Jerusalem where he is reporting for San Diego Jewish World.  You may comment to him at jnaghi@sdjewishworld.com

 

[1] Ambassador Dennis Ross Lecture: ‘Is There Hope for Peace in the Middle East?’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOxnbkVk7lU.

[2] Dr. Arnon Gross lecture.

[3] http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-vows-to-honor-palestinian-referendum-on-peace-with-israel-1.328234.