Being Honest

Palestine deserves statehood.

Now, before the wolves descend, let me make a couple things clear:

1. I am a Zionist in the traditional sense: I believe in the right of the modern State of Israel to exist, and to defend itself.  But even if you set aside the theoretical considerations, you've got a state that's been there for 60 years, with 6 million people living there.  Short of ethnic cleansing, there's no way to get rid of them now.

2. I do not believe Israel's actions are illegal under international law, not even the so-called "settlements."  The West Bank was ceded to Israel by Jordan, and Gaza was ceded to Israel by Egypt.  (Funny how Egypt wanted the empty Sinai desert back, but not the place where all the Palestinians live.)  I even believe that Operation Cast Lead was legal, under Israel's sovereign right to defend itself.

3. I hate Netanyahu and I hate Lieberman even more.  They are not good Jews and they are not good for Israel.  How did they get elected?  Well, if Hamas was shooting rockets at my son's daycare, I might get more hawkish too.  It's easy for me to criticize while I'm safe and sound in San Francisco.  Israel is a sovereign democracy and has a right to self-determination, which in this case meant electing a bunch of hawkish, right-wing assholes.

4. In spite of that, I'm still a Zionist, and I still support the right of Israel to exist, and to defend itself.  (See #1.)

5. It is fair to point out that Palestine as a country never actually existed before.  The ancient Romans made it up when they wanted to wipe Israel from the map.  The Palestinians are asking for land that used to belong to Jordan and Egypt, and now belongs to Israel.  They refused to negotiate last year, which was probably their last best chance to do so.  But none of that really matters either; there are 6 million Palestinians living on that land, and removing them all would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing.  Leaving them on the land as non-citizens is not only unethical, it is against Judaism.  I've never heard any real alternative to a two-state solution.

So, why do I support Palestinian statehood?  Two reasons.

First, it's an admission of what's actually true.  Palestine has been functioning as an independent state for nearly 20 years now.  To be sure, their government is still somewhat of a disfunctional mess, corruption is sky high, terrorists have taken over half the country (Gaza), their territory is non-contiguous, and they do not control their own borders.  But under Abbas, Palestine has quietly turned into a modern, liberal, democratic state with a functioning economy and government.  Do they have a long way to go?  Of course, but most countries do.

So, why does reality matter?  It has to do with honesty.  I've said before that we're the good guys only so long as we actlike the good guys.  That's why CIA torture bothers me so much; good guys don't torture people.  In ancient times, God told the Jews that they would be a nation of priests to the world, showing the world wisdom and righteousness.  In modern times, the United States of America has taken up that mantle, serving as a shining example of modernism, liberalism, capitalism, freedom, and democracy.  There's a reason why everyone wants to come here, and if they can't come here, they at least want to be like us, act like us, even dress like us.  Most of the great wonders of the 20th century came from the US, and the 21st century is off to a good start.

But part of being the good guys means being honest.  It means doing the right things for the right reasons.  It means being honest.  And it's dishonest to claim that Palestine isn't already a country.  Sure, there are a couple small things missing (see above), but Palestine is already a country in every way that really matters.  If we start lying about that, then we're eroding our stature in the international community.

Second reason: it will be good for the peace process.  Abbas has asked the Palestinian people for a leap of faith: "Renounce violence, renounce armed resistance, and let's build a modern state.  We will win by taking care of ourselves."  The Palestinians have gone along with it for almost 10 years now, and it's been wildly successful; Palestine is a much better place now than it was under the Second Intefadah.  But what the Palestinians really want is statehood, and Abbas knows that.  Internet cafes are nice, but he needs to show results.  It's been a long time, the liberal prime ministers are gone, the pro-peace prime ministers are gone, and now the Palestinians are facing a right-wing prime minister who wants to keep taking their land.  Abbas needs to show the Palestinians that his way is the right way.  He will accomplish through peace something that Arafat never accomplished through violence: internationally recognized statehood.  Israel will never find a better partner for peace than Abbas; what's good for Abbas is good for the peace process.

It bugs me that Israel and American are on the wrong side of this argument.  Yes, negotiations have to happen.  But there's no good reason why they can't happen between two sovereign states.  We're the good guys, and we should act like it.

(Now, feel free to flame me.  Because we live in a free country and that's okay.)