Political Violence Researchers, Rachel Kleinfeld, ed., Dalya Berkowitz, ed.
{
"authors": [
"Rachel Kleinfeld"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "democracy",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "DCG",
"programs": [
"Democracy, Conflict, and Governance"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Middle East",
"Israel",
"Palestine"
],
"topics": [
"Democracy",
"Security"
]
}Source: Getty
Israeli ‘Blindness’ on Peace Can’t Last
The defacto annexation of the West Bank through settlements, along with declining secular Jewish births and the size of the non-Jewish population, means that Israel is en route to becoming a non-majority Jewish country.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
I was in Israel on a State Department-sponsored speaking tour, but every time I mentioned the peace process, I got eye rolls.From generals in Tel Aviv to college kids in Jerusalem, the response was the same: “We want peace, sure. But it won’t happen. You Americans are naive to even try.”
As Americans who love Israel, we need to change this thinking — fast.
Israel is sitting on a demographic time bomb. The defacto annexation of the West Bank through settlements, along with declining secular Jewish births and the size of the non-Jewish population, means that Israel is en route to becoming a non-majority Jewish country. Without a decision to divide into two states, Israel can’t be both a democracy and a Jewish homeland for long.
Israelis are hoping the problem disappears. With no solution, they sip espresso in Tel Aviv or surf off Haifa in a state of collective denial. Polling shows that they know this is escapism. But the nearly 70 percent of the population who say they want two states don’t believe it will happen, so are stuck in a state of frozen animation.
I first fell in love with Israel at the age of 16, and kept returning. In the second intifada, the school where I had studied Hebrew, the bus I took there, my coffee shop and the Mahene Yehuda market I visited daily were all hit by suicide bombs. Israel’s existence is not a given. Security threats are real. So what do we do?
First, we need to stop talking about the peace process. Not the concept — but the words, which strike Israelis as naive. Neutral terms like “negotiated agreement” resonate more than “peace” or “solution.”
Second, we need to prod both sides to seize the moment with urgency. Helping Israelis understand that America expects Israel to help itself is the best way to ensure an Israeli state for the next 65 years. That means, yes, stopping settlement building, while asking Europeans to pressure Palestinians to drop prisoner exchanges as preconditions for talks.
Third, we need to help younger Israelis and Palestinians feel that conflict can be solved. Palestinian groups are preventing young Jews and Arabs from attending joint activities — something European pressure might help stop. As long as anti-normalization continues, meetings with Northern Irish youth could show each side that intractable conflict can end.
Finally, negotiators need to talk with Palestinians who wield power — not just with those we like. That means engaging with Khaled Meshaal, Gaza’s prime minister, who has denounced negotiation. Such a stance means we must continue assisting Israel with security, like its Iron Dome system that has stopped 80 percent of incoming rockets.
Mid-week, I drove from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on the controversial highway 443, which follows the wall. “Look,” said my driver. “That’s the wall the world makes such a fuss about.” She pointed to a fence that at times could have been guarding a south Chicago self-storage site. At other times, the fence was 20 feet high, covered with barbed concertina wire.
When I mentioned taking the road, many Israelis said they didn’t know they were driving along the West Bank or that the construction they saw was for settlements.
The blindness has consequences. One journalist explained, “We don’t see the Palestinians. They are behind their wall. They don’t affect all this,” he gestured around a lively Tel Aviv restaurant. “We’ll see them again if they launch another intifada.”
That is not the incentive system anyone wants. Israel has a chance, now, for a different future. Americans can catalyze change. But only the leaders of both peoples can seize it.
This article was originally published in the Chicago Sun-Times.
About the Author
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Rachel Kleinfeld is a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, where she focuses on issues of rule of law, security, and governance in democracies experiencing polarization, violence, and other governance problems.
- Political Violence in the U.S.Other
- Civil Society Repression Internationally and Historically Within the United StatesTestimony
Rachel Kleinfeld
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- The Le Pen Verdict: How French Politics Turned MAGACommentary
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen can—and will—run in France’s next presidential election. What does the outcome of her appeal against a 2025 embezzlement conviction mean for the country’s political future?
Catherine Fieschi
- From Hormuz to the Maghreb: The Geopolitical Reach of a Gulf CrisisArticle
Morocco and Algeria, each in its own way, are having to navigate the global economic fallout of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
Yasmine Zarhloule
- Nolan’s "The Odyssey" Has a Colonialism ProblemCommentary
Despite Morocco’s hopes that its film industry would reap rewards, the blockbuster’s success will be tainted by controversy surrounding filming in occupied Western Sahara.
Sarah Yerkes
- Securing America’s Near Abroad: Recalibrating U.S. Policy Toward HaitiPaper
Helping to stabilize Haiti is in the United States’ national interest and can be done by making wise use of various foreign policy tools in addition to supporting international security forces.
Christopher Shell
- A Thousand Days After October 7, Washington Still Has No Strategic PlanCommentary
Five major trends are shaping U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Daniel C. Kurtzer, Aaron David Miller