Posted by
Benyamin Solomon on Saturday, September 19, 2009 6:37:35 PM
By
Assaf Uni, Haaretz
November 21, 2007
Over a decade after the Israeli right in effect
abandoned the vision of a Greater Israel, the radical left in both
Israel and Britain has come to favor the idea with a few essential
changes.
On Sunday, London saw the conclusion of a conference on the
so-called one-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
While pro-Israel groups accused the organizers of staging a provocation
aimed at bashing Israel's image, academics from Israel and the
Palestinian Authority discussed possible models for the formation of a
single state ranging from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, and
maybe even further east.
The conference, which attracted many academics as well as local
activists from Palestinian solidarity groups, students and Arab
activists, was perhaps the latest stage in a series of projects that
have given London its image as one of Europe's most anti-Zionist
capitals.
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Indeed,
the British left's attitude toward Israel has been characterized by
warrants for the arrest of Israel Defense Forces officers, boycotts of
Israeli products on the part of various trade unions, condemnations of
Israel as an apartheid state by churches, and the recent academic
boycott initiative.
The latest two-day event, at the University of London's School of
Oriental And African Studies (SOAS), attracted no less than 300 people.
The participants discussed establishing either a binational state or a
"state of all its citizens", or a secular democracy that would include
the entire population of the Palestinian Authority plus all the
Palestinian refugees.
They also entertained the notion of an Israeli-Palestinian confederation and other creative solutions.
Among the notable guests were Palestinian civil rights activist
Omar Barghouti, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe and one of the instigators
of the academic boycott, Professor Haim Bereshit. The panel members
discussed the status of Palestinians and Israelis in the would-be
unified state, relying on historic precedents like South Africa and
Northern Ireland.
The conference was organized by the London One State Group an
association of about a dozen Israeli, Palestinian and Jewish students
who are studying or have studied in London. The funding, they say, came
from ticket sales.
Along with the lofty talk about political theory, visitors could
hear radical views on Israel, which was regularly described as "a
colonialist power" and "an apartheid state."
In the small conference hall, Zionism was not only a dirty word,
but an immoral, inexcusably cruel utterance. "I don't believe the
Jewish lie," one Arab representative said.
Yonni Eshpar, a young graphic designer from Tel Aviv who was among
the conference's initiators, said that he put the event together
because "Israel is a discriminatory and racist country and I am
interested in seeing to my children's future." The group's main goal,
Eshpar said, was to initiate a discussion of the one-state option.
Explaining why he wanted to include residents of the Palestinian
Authority in his proposed "state of all its citizens," Eshpar said,
adding "They are the citizens of this land. They were there before us.
Besides, the nation-state system has concluded its historical role all
over the world, from Singapore through Denmark to Israel."
Pro-Israel groups say that this initiative should not be taken
seriously. "Our internal polls have shown that the majority of British
people support the Balfour Declaration and the existence of the Jewish
state," said Lorna Fitzsimons, CEO of the pro-Israeli organization
BICOM, the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre.
According to Fitzsimons, the one-state initiative which has
recently gained popularity in academic circles should not be associated
with the academic boycott of Israeli educational institutions.
"How do you propose to deal with the crimes the Israelis are
perpetrating in the Occupied Territories?" a female Palestinian student
asked panel members at the end of the conference's first day. "Should
Israeli military commanders be put on trial for war crimes? Should
truth and reconciliation committees be set up?"
It was then that an Israeli student remarked: "Excuse me, but you
sound just like the far right in Israel. Are the Israelis not entitled
to self-determination? Do Israelis only understand force? This kind of
discussion hampers progress, because it fails to recognize the other
side.
Note form Benyamin Solomon:I put this column on this blog. This is a good eye-opening column that is worth reading. It goes to show how radical leftists [which dominates the political discourse in European nations] oppose the two-state settlement by seeking the destruction of Israel.