Pronouncing Zionism correct this way is assuming History is over, and the argument is settled. It’s not. Zionism has created an apartheid genocidal ethnostate that requires 7.5 million people to dominate militarily half a billion people in perpetuity. Forget immoral and abhorrent, that’s just not sustainable.
The Palestinians (and Arab neighbors) have refused several deals over the decades starting with the Peel commission, UN partition plan, refusal to accept Israel in 1948, three noes of Khartoum resolution, repeated closure of Suez Canal, Clinton parameters, Camp David, Olmerts offer, and others.
Egypt and Jordan made peace deals, that have held up really well. Egypt got the Sinai back.
Accepting Israel as a neighbor and working towards coexistence is the way to go.
apartheid genocidal ethnostate
That doesn’t even narrow it down much compared to other countries in the region. Palestinians aren’t even the worst off group in the region.
Remember that surrounding states have (muslim) rulers that persecute and oppress minorities. Jews were mostly expelled and live now in Israel. It’s not looking rosy for indigenous groups like Druze, Kurds, Alawites, Sufi, Assyrians, Armenians, Yazidi. All of that independently of Israel.
Jizya tax on non Muslims is a thing. Muslims being favored over other groups before court is basic in sharia law. That’s widespread in the region.
In the gulf states only a small minority of the population even has citizenship in the first place.
The descendants of Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon today are barred from getting citizenship, barred from many professions, can’t freely choose where they live, and suffer other forms of discrimination. All Palestinians were expelled from Kuwait in 1990 because they had supported Saddam‘s invasion.
Lots of Palestinians are kept as eternal stateless people with refugee status because their ancestors fled Palestine in 1948. No other refugee population gets treated like that. UNHCR considers people no longer refugees if they have settled elsewhere and gained citizenship. UNRWA does the opposite, it blocks all efforts at settlement and ending refugee status. That’s unique to the Palestinians, a great injustice towards them, and a major reason for this conflict to continue. This is unsustainable.
not sustainable
We will see. Israel is winning the shooting wars decisively at the moment. Rebuilding and rearming will be difficult and take time for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and its other proxies. People can change their mind and goals after losing a war badly.
Look at Europe today. There are no German terrorist blowing up Buses in the Sudetenland. No Polish militants are shooting rockets at Lviv. The Flemish aren’t fighting a civil war in Belgium. It’s possible to overcome old hatred and build peace without providing perfect justice.
Before the current war Saudi Arabia considered recognizing Israel and making peace. They know Iran is the biggest regional threat to both of them.
Once this war has calmed down, there will be increased diplomatic efforts. Israel could achieve recognition and peace with Saudi Arabia, other gulf states. Lebanon is possible as well. They are fed up by Hezbollah starting wars with Israel every few years.
Palestinians deserve better. That will come once their political goals change from destruction of Israel to building a better future in coexistence.
Israel can slide into becoming a lot more authoritarian, more nationalist, more racist, actual apartheid as well. It would simply become more like their neighbors.
However today. Palestinians living in Israel proper (1948) with citizenship have the most rights, freedom, and economic prosperity of any Palestinian in the region. Regarding freedoms and political rights Palestinians with Israeli citizenship are better off than any Arab in the region. Even before the current war Palestinians in the West Bank and also Gaza were better off than many other people in the region.
That said. Israel should figure out what to do with the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) in their own interest. Full annexation with full citizenship for Palestinians would endanger Jewish majority and likely lead to civil war. Total expulsion of Palestinians isn’t practical. Two states is impractical as long as Palestinian political leadership is deeply divided. An pragmatic Emirates solution with city states and a federal structure might work.
sustainable
The most sustainable regimes in the region have been the monarchies: Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc. Arab socialist republican nationalism has failed in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Libya.
Turkey with its flawed democracy, oppression of minorities, religious leadership, fierce nationalism, and neo-ottoman imperialist ambitions has been stable enough as well. Israel is still in a far better state than Turkey in most measures.
Israel has one major geopolitical weakness and that’s lack of strategic depth. They can’t afford to lose more than a tiny bit of land in a war. It would end them. Their population is small, meaning a grinding long war of attrition is also difficult. That’s why they need to act aggressively and preemptively.
The neighbors in the region are likely to realize that coexistence, peace, and cooperation with Israel is in their own interest.
Another way of saying: Zionism turned out to be correct by historical developments.
Pronouncing Zionism correct this way is assuming History is over, and the argument is settled. It’s not. Zionism has created an apartheid genocidal ethnostate that requires 7.5 million people to dominate militarily half a billion people in perpetuity. Forget immoral and abhorrent, that’s just not sustainable.
The Palestinians (and Arab neighbors) have refused several deals over the decades starting with the Peel commission, UN partition plan, refusal to accept Israel in 1948, three noes of Khartoum resolution, repeated closure of Suez Canal, Clinton parameters, Camp David, Olmerts offer, and others.
Egypt and Jordan made peace deals, that have held up really well. Egypt got the Sinai back.
Accepting Israel as a neighbor and working towards coexistence is the way to go.
That doesn’t even narrow it down much compared to other countries in the region. Palestinians aren’t even the worst off group in the region.
Remember that surrounding states have (muslim) rulers that persecute and oppress minorities. Jews were mostly expelled and live now in Israel. It’s not looking rosy for indigenous groups like Druze, Kurds, Alawites, Sufi, Assyrians, Armenians, Yazidi. All of that independently of Israel.
Jizya tax on non Muslims is a thing. Muslims being favored over other groups before court is basic in sharia law. That’s widespread in the region.
In the gulf states only a small minority of the population even has citizenship in the first place.
The descendants of Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon today are barred from getting citizenship, barred from many professions, can’t freely choose where they live, and suffer other forms of discrimination. All Palestinians were expelled from Kuwait in 1990 because they had supported Saddam‘s invasion.
Lots of Palestinians are kept as eternal stateless people with refugee status because their ancestors fled Palestine in 1948. No other refugee population gets treated like that. UNHCR considers people no longer refugees if they have settled elsewhere and gained citizenship. UNRWA does the opposite, it blocks all efforts at settlement and ending refugee status. That’s unique to the Palestinians, a great injustice towards them, and a major reason for this conflict to continue. This is unsustainable.
We will see. Israel is winning the shooting wars decisively at the moment. Rebuilding and rearming will be difficult and take time for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and its other proxies. People can change their mind and goals after losing a war badly.
Look at Europe today. There are no German terrorist blowing up Buses in the Sudetenland. No Polish militants are shooting rockets at Lviv. The Flemish aren’t fighting a civil war in Belgium. It’s possible to overcome old hatred and build peace without providing perfect justice.
Before the current war Saudi Arabia considered recognizing Israel and making peace. They know Iran is the biggest regional threat to both of them.
Once this war has calmed down, there will be increased diplomatic efforts. Israel could achieve recognition and peace with Saudi Arabia, other gulf states. Lebanon is possible as well. They are fed up by Hezbollah starting wars with Israel every few years.
Palestinians deserve better. That will come once their political goals change from destruction of Israel to building a better future in coexistence.
Israel can slide into becoming a lot more authoritarian, more nationalist, more racist, actual apartheid as well. It would simply become more like their neighbors.
However today. Palestinians living in Israel proper (1948) with citizenship have the most rights, freedom, and economic prosperity of any Palestinian in the region. Regarding freedoms and political rights Palestinians with Israeli citizenship are better off than any Arab in the region. Even before the current war Palestinians in the West Bank and also Gaza were better off than many other people in the region.
That said. Israel should figure out what to do with the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) in their own interest. Full annexation with full citizenship for Palestinians would endanger Jewish majority and likely lead to civil war. Total expulsion of Palestinians isn’t practical. Two states is impractical as long as Palestinian political leadership is deeply divided. An pragmatic Emirates solution with city states and a federal structure might work.
The most sustainable regimes in the region have been the monarchies: Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc. Arab socialist republican nationalism has failed in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Libya.
Turkey with its flawed democracy, oppression of minorities, religious leadership, fierce nationalism, and neo-ottoman imperialist ambitions has been stable enough as well. Israel is still in a far better state than Turkey in most measures.
Israel has one major geopolitical weakness and that’s lack of strategic depth. They can’t afford to lose more than a tiny bit of land in a war. It would end them. Their population is small, meaning a grinding long war of attrition is also difficult. That’s why they need to act aggressively and preemptively.
The neighbors in the region are likely to realize that coexistence, peace, and cooperation with Israel is in their own interest.