Since the mid-twentieth century, Jews have been migrating to the land of Israel, known by the Arabs as Palestine, to escape the discrimination and persecution they had been facing in Europe for centuries. The Zionist movement began to grow as a result of the Holocaust, as the Jews believe they have a right to their own Jewish state where their holy sites are. However, the Arabs have been living in Palestine for generations, and they are unwilling to accept the formation of a Jewish state because of the Palestinian cultural and ancestral ties that exist in that land. Because both the Palestinians and Jews are obdurate and will not forswear the land they both feel they have a right to, the Arab-Israeli conflict is an incredibly complicated issue.
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The Israelis are unwilling to lose their status as a Jewish state, but there is no possible way the Palestinians would agree to live and coexist in a Jewish state. A joint council of Israeli and Palestinian representatives would not work because there would constantly be a 50/50 split, and it would be difficult for any decisions to be made. Because of this, any development of a combined Palestinian-Israeli state would be limited. Member of the Israeli Knesset for the Labor Party, Hilik Bar, said, “One state would be the end of the Zionist dream and it would eliminate the dream of the Palestinians to have a state of their own. With this, we would doom ourselves to perpetual conflict, a lose-lose situation” (Bar). Additionally, a two state solution would prevent discrimination against Palestinians by Israeli government leaders in the shared state, and vise versa. Currently, as the land is under Israeli government control, the Palestinians face a plethora of discrimination and unequal treatment. In the film Straddling the Fence, an American journalism from The New York Times named Thomas Friedman speaks with Palestinian suicide bombers to get their perspective. One of the men shares his experiences at Israeli checkpoints, saying “When a soldier asks me to take my clothes off in front of girls (at a checkpoint), it’s a great humiliation to me” (Straddling the Fence). A two state solution would allow for two separate governments, and issues of discrimination towards a country’s own people would be
The Israelis are unwilling to lose their status as a Jewish state, but there is no possible way the Palestinians would agree to live and coexist in a Jewish state. A joint council of Israeli and Palestinian representatives would not work because there would constantly be a 50/50 split, and it would be difficult for any decisions to be made. Because of this, any development of a combined Palestinian-Israeli state would be limited. Member of the Israeli Knesset for the Labor Party, Hilik Bar, said, “One state would be the end of the Zionist dream and it would eliminate the dream of the Palestinians to have a state of their own. With this, we would doom ourselves to perpetual conflict, a lose-lose situation” (Bar). Additionally, a two state solution would prevent discrimination against Palestinians by Israeli government leaders in the shared state, and vise versa. Currently, as the land is under Israeli government control, the Palestinians face a plethora of discrimination and unequal treatment. In the film Straddling the Fence, an American journalism from The New York Times named Thomas Friedman speaks with Palestinian suicide bombers to get their perspective. One of the men shares his experiences at Israeli checkpoints, saying “When a soldier asks me to take my clothes off in front of girls (at a checkpoint), it’s a great humiliation to me” (Straddling the Fence). A two state solution would allow for two separate governments, and issues of discrimination towards a country’s own people would be