The Two State Solution: The Final Solution by Jonathan Costello

My thirst was quenched as my lips rested against the straw. I am in a beautiful market in the Negev desert, but something is off. I look to the west and there is a row of three fences and jeeps roam the area. I turn to the east and there are bomb shelters all around. This is the Gaza border and a snapshot of Palestinian v Israeli life. A paradise, but haunted by the terror and fear many on both sides of the border feel everyday. The Israelis get the market and Western life, and the Palestinians get a war torn hell just a mile away.

All my life I have prayed east towards Jerusalem, have prayed for peace in Israel, and the stability for a Zionist state. The Muslims in Palestine pray east towards Mecca for peace in their land and a home for their people. This is a tragedy between two people who want the same thing and have the ability to make it work, but ignorance, rejection, and war stand in their way. They need a way to solve this problem, something that can bring these people to peace and give them a place to live. That is where the two state solution comes into play.

You may ask yourself, yeah some kid who is not an expert in my class thinks this, but what do Israeli people say? A recent Haaretz poll found 38% of Israelis believe in a two state solution, opposed to only 19% believing in a one state solution. The people in Israel want a two state solution, and it would benefit Palestine as well! When Lara Friendman spoke at the UN regarding Israel and Palestine, she stated, “It is the only solution that offers Israelis and Palestinians alike the hope for a normal life – a better life – for their children and their children’s children.” In the end, the goal is a better life for the future generations and the opportunity to prosper on the banks of the Mediterranean. That is what the two state solution offers.

Not only Jews and Arabs in the Middle East call for a two state solution, across the pond we also call for the same thing. When speaking to prominent Jewish intellectual, Elliot Geller, on the topic of Zionism (the idea Jews should have their own place to live) and the two state solution, he said, “Zionism has been the greatest achievement Judaism has ever had. I believe in [the two state solution], 20 years earlier I would have said no, but the importance of peace in the region can only be achieved in a two state solution.” This in my opinion is a great statement because, yes, Zionism is great, but when Jews dreamt up the idea of Israel, we always imagined an Arab neighbor in the land of Israel and peace. We have achieved the Jewish state; now we have to help our Arab friends to ensure peace in the holy land.

With any plan or idea there will always be opposition, and in the two state solution there are two people in opposition, Israelis who want one state and Muslims who do not believe there should even be a Jewish state. Sharif Nashashib, writer for Al Jazeera English, a radical Muslim who spoke on how Israel is an imperialist apartheid regime similar to the one that once ruled South Africa. Somehow this is a belief that many others in his circle believe; they do not want Israel to exist. This is a horrible thing to say and insulting to Black South Africans. They were divided and discriminated against in every facet of life, and this not the case in Israel. On my trip to Israel, our tour bus driver was Arab Muslim and lived on the same street as our Jewish tour guide. Sure Arab people from Palestine don’t have the same rights as Arab Israeli citizens, just as Canadians do not have the same benefits as Americans when they visit. That is the literal reason why Palestine and Israel need to exist, and that is what the two state solution proposes.

Currently it is the Jewish holiday of Pesach, and at the end of the seder (the dinner ceremony for Passover) we say, “Next year in Jerusalem,” a hope for a great year and the continued prosperity of the Jewish people. And to that I say “Next year in Jerusalem.” We will have a solution and peace for everybody in Eretz Yisrael and Palestine.

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