Mr. Abunimah continues where I left off: a discussion of the much wider rightward trend on the Israeli political scene beyond the overtly fascist icons like Avigdor Lieberman. In his words:
"...it's too easy to make [Lieberman] the bogeyman. Israel's narrow political spectrum now consists at one end of the former 'peace camp' that never halted the violent expropriation of Palestinian land for Jewish settlements and boasts with pride of the war crimes in Gaza, and at the other, a surging far-right whose 'solutions' vary from apartheid to outright ethnic cleansing."
The latter is a clear reference to the Likud, Shas (an ultra-Orthodox religious party), Yisrael Beiteinu, and other nationalist parties. The former refers to the Labor Party, led by former Prime Minister and current Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who in his capacity spearheaded the slaughter of Gaza; as well as Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's Kadima, the centrist inheritor of Ariel Sharon's legacy. Together these parties constitute virtually the entire Knesset; with disgracefully few exceptions, all Israeli parties are anti-Palestinian.
However, I'm skeptical of Abunimah's ultimate conclusion that a two-state solution cannot work. Obviously, a two-state solution imposes impractical geographical constraints on any Palestinian state, which is why a Bosnia-style, federated, two-part single state would be preferable under ideal conditions. But Abunimah seems to underestimate how long it will take before a single-state solution becomes feasible, given the mutual animosity and distrust on both sides.
For now, the best we can do is encourage a more rational politics in Israel (and in Palestine as well) to foster a peaceful coexistence.
- CHM
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