Without a two-state solution, there will never be peace

To the Editor:

I am not a self-hating Jew as Elliott Greene describes those of us who oppose Israel’s current war in Gaza [“Israel didn’t start this current conflict in Gaza,” July 25, 2024]. 

But I am a peace-loving American Jew and woman who stands with many Jews and others who believe that without a two-state solution that provides both Jew and Arab dignity and a way to live a life without fear of violence, there will never be peace.

While Mr. Greene states that his facts are clear, I am afraid that it is not the case. The current war was not started by the Israelis and the violence and kidnappings suffered by so many innocents at the hands of the Hamas terrorists is horrendous. There are no ifs, ands or buts about that.

It is simply not the case that after 1948 most Arabs left Palestine willingly. The approximately 750,000 Arabs who left did so out of forced expulsions and fear of violence by the hands of the Israel Defense Force.

In fact, as cited in “We Are Not One” by Eric Alterman, the late Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion was haunted by these expulsions. Both Jews and Arabs were the subject of violence during that period. 

Hamas is not a democratic organization that has fulfilled the desires of the citizens of Gaza. Quite to the contrary, so the collective punishment thrust on thousands of Palestinians in the form of deaths of children and women, malnutrition and the lack of access to desperately needed health care is inhumane.

The 1995 hope for peace in the unlikely form of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin demonstrates both the steadfast resistance to peace with the Palestinians by the right wing of Israeli leadership and the ability of those who struggled for years on all sides of the question to recognize the need for a political solution. 

Today in Gaza there is a humanitarian crisis and at the same time in the West Bank, the illegal settlement movement continues to threaten the Palestinians living there.

Since the United States is a critical supporter of Israel, it is imperative that we do study and know the facts so that we can influence the decisions made in our name. I support the objectives of Peace Now — for more information about this organization go to www.peacenow.org.

Shalom,

Helene G. Goldberger

Berne

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