Peter Beinart, an associate professor of
journalism and political science at City University of New York, is a
49-year-old American Jew, who regularly writes for the New-York Times, Haaretz,
the Atlantic and the New York Review of Books.
Beinart, who keeps the Jewish dietary laws and
attends an Orthodox synagogue, considers himself to be a "liberal Zionist". Several
days ago, he published an article in the New York Times, in which he wrote: “It’s time to imagine a Jewish home that is not a Jewish state.“
He explains “I
knew Israel was wrong to deny Palestinians in the West Bank citizenship, due
process, free movement and the right to vote in the country in which they
lived. But the dream of a two-state solution that would give Palestinians a
country of their own let me hope that I could remain a liberal and a supporter
of Jewish statehood at the same time.”
Beinart concludes that “Events have now
extinguished that hope.” And, that “It’s time to abandon the traditional two-state
solution and embrace the goal of equal rights for Jews and Palestinians.”
This was not an easy trip for
Peter Beinart, nor for many others who share his despair. Beinart writes “I
believed in Israel as a Jewish state because I grew up in a family that had
hopscotched from continent to continent as diaspora Jewish communities
crumbled. I saw Israel’s impact on my grandfather and father, who were never as
happy or secure as when enveloped in a society of Jews. And I knew that Israel
was a source of comfort and pride to millions of other Jews, some of whose
families had experienced traumas greater than my own.”
Many Jews outside Israel will take this to
the next step, as they reconsider their relationship with the State of Israel.
