Israel has been the target of a new wave of attacks in recent months, much of it certainly linked to left-wing disappointment at the return of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s first major policy effort to reform Israel’s judiciary — changes that bring the judiciary closer to the U.S. Supreme Court, such as the separation of judicial and legislative branches — immediately became a lightning rod for American critics. denounced. It is an example of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s “authoritarianism.” (Related: Shoshana Brien: The real story behind the Biden administration’s glacial Israeli ties)

For the Biden administration, ousting foreign governments that don’t share politics is another. Unless left-wing dissatisfaction finds its way into the American intellectual mainstream.

An example is the latest issue of Foreign Affairs magazine. article It bears the explicit title, “Israel’s One-State Reality: It’s Time to Give Up on the Two-State Solution.” Two of his authors are friends and I have learned a lot from them over the years in dealing with our common academic focus of political Islam.

The work advocates the abolition of the terms “two-state solution” and “peace process”. But not because these policies failed (which is the argument I used). Rather, as the authors write, their policy paradigm begins with a “single-state reality.” Israel – “It is morally reprehensible and strategically costly.”

In other words, in their view, any approach to peace that gives Israel the negotiating table appears unwarranted.

The key premise underlying this article seems to be the following two sentences: “Israel no longer even pretends to maintain its liberal aspirations. You shouldn’t have ‘unbreakable bonds’.”

Not only is this assumption diplomatically dangerous for the United States, it also reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the uniquely dynamic and inclusive nature of Israeli democracy.

The fact is that Israel is not only a liberal democracy that shares values ​​and history with the United States, but its Jewish nature influences its experience of democracy. And that’s what the Jewish community needs, as well as the Christian and Muslim communities.

What are your thoughts on Jewishness in Israel? Perhaps there is no more sensitive issue for Israelis today, and Jews around the world, than the national Jewish identity.

While the word “Jewish” appears at least 32 times in a Foreign Affairs article, the word “Orthodox” appears only once and “Haredi” forms an important part of the Netanyahu coalition Israel is a Hebrew term for the ultra-Orthodox community of — nothing is mentioned.

While seemingly a narrow-minded question, the Jewishness of Israel (and the fact of its discursive nature) is directly relevant when considering how the Israeli government approaches its non-Jewish citizens. There is no precedent for government in recent Jewish history, much less for a non-Jewish group. This will enable a lively and evolving debate on governance within Israel.

Its Judaism is not just for Jews, but rather makes it uniquely welcoming to Muslims and Christians, another point omitted by the authors of Foreign Affairs. Conversations are being held about Palestinian and Arab life in Israel as part of Israeli society, how Arabs participate in Israeli politics, military service, and daily life.

Israel’s Arab population not only registered a 50% voter turnout in the last election, one point Early in the ballot counting, Israel’s Arab Balad Party nearly exceeded the required number of seats, giving Bibi only 60 seats, threatening his way to victory just one step away from forming a coalition government. Meanwhile, Islamist politician Mansur Abbas of Israel’s Arab Lahm Party has joined the Rapid Bennett coalition government and expressed his willingness to join the Bibi coalition government in the last election.

2020 poll While only 7% of Arabs living in Israel identify themselves as ‘Palestinian’, 51% were found to be ‘Israeli Arabs’.more recent pollIn a survey conducted last spring in the midst of a wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks, 26% of Arab-Israeli respondents said they would support Israel if it was under attack, and 37% of respondents said they would support new attacks. He expressed interest in serving in the National Guard.

When asked the same question about the war between Israel and Arab countries, 23% of respondents said they would side with Arab countries, while more than 50% said they would remain neutral.

These perspectives are very different from the Zionist sentiments sweeping Israeli Arabs, but that’s exactly the point. Israel is the home and arena where this broader perspective is debated, and in some cases where it merges into new identities. And a point of view like an Israeli Arab.

Just as Israel’s Jewishness is not up for debate, neither is Israel’s nationality. In contrast, Palestinian state status must first and foremost be earned when Palestinian leaders are identified, accountable and act responsibly.

The authors of the Foreign Affairs article did not mention Mahmoud Abbas, the senior leader of the Palestinian Authority (PA). If we are talking about establishing a Palestinian state, what will come next after Abbas? What would that governance structure look like? How can we be sure that we can offer Palestinians, Israeli Arabs and Jews equal opportunities and rights than Israel?

The question remains, and as long as it persists, the debate over the creation of a Palestinian state will remain ambitious. And the discussion need not be tied to a recognition of the immediate, real, and urgent national and geopolitical realities of Israel, unlike the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Rather than the “radical response” sought by the authors of the Foreign Affairs article, today’s US-Israel agenda requires resilience and support between the two countries struggling with liberal democracy.

Jacob Olidot is currently Director of the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute and Director of the Center’s Middle East Peace Project.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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