Today in Salon, Aluf Benn of Haaretz has a piece making the point that there already is a de facto two-state solution in the Middle East, because Israelis have progressively cut themselves off from their Palestinian neighbors.  He writes:

The ever-increasing separation measures, the economic independence from the Palestinians and above all the physical barriers have isolated Israelis like never before from the “other side.” This has enabled Israel to flourish as a first-world, Western wannabe, an enclave in the heart of an otherwise largely stagnant Arab world.

This is all convincing.  I know many people in Israel who have never spoken to a Palestinian and never really even seen one other than while serving in the army.  In fact, there are a number of different non-profit groups and websites that make it their mission to show the outside world that there is a lot in Israel ”beyond the conflict” — high-tech innovations, sushi restaurants, a good music scene, etc. 

I’ve always found that a bit disingenuous and maybe even immoral. 

The world rightfully doesn’t care about Tel Aviv’s great sushi restaurants (seriously, they’re pretty good), when just a few minutes drive away, Palestinian children live impoverished, malnourished lives IN PART because of Israeli policy.  Separating yourself and trying to ignore the conflict and the occupation does not make it go away.  It just makes you in denial.

But Aluf knows that the imaginary two-state solution is not just unsustainable, it is also dangerous.  Near the end of his piece he writes:

But this situation comes with a price. While allowing Israelis to ignore their unfriendly neighborhood, and live under the illusion that their country exists somewhere in Europe or North America, the status quo reduces Israelis’ motivation to seek compromise and peace with the Palestinians. To observers of the Palestinians’ deteriorating situation in the occupied territories, that symptom of Israeli denial can appear morally repugnant. And as the destitution in those areas mounts, the status quo is not likely to be sustainable — a deeper chaos could erupt and become a much greater problem for Israel’s government and people.  

Related:

• Zabaj
• Settlements
• “Then Become Israelstine, Who Knows?”