‘In the last two years, 646 Israelis and over 1,600 Palestinians have been killed,’ an Israeli entrepreneur told students last night to emphasize the importance of finding a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Dr. Boaz Tamir, who graduated in 1987 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Ph.D. in political science, proposed a resolution for the conflict in a lecture entitled ‘The People’s Voice: An Israeli-Palestinian Civil Society Agreement for Co-existence’ at the Center of International Studies at MIT.
He summed up his initiative as ‘two states for two people: both sides will declare that Palestine is the only state of the Palestinian people and Israel is the only state of the Jewish people.’
Israel will be located ‘within its UN-endorsed 1948 borders and Palestine in all of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Palestinian refugees will return only to Palestine, and Jews will return only to Israel.’
Audience member Heath Racela skeptically asked if Palestinians would have the resources necessary to survive in the West Bank.
‘Yes,’ Tamir answered confidently. ‘The Palestinian society is the most educated in the Middle East. Also, with the help of the international community, Palestine will become viable.’
The unique aspect of Tamir’s proposal is that Jerusalem will be the capital of both Palestine and Israel.
‘Freedom of religion and full access to holy sites will be guaranteed to all, he said. ‘Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem will come under Palestinian sovereignty, Jewish neighborhoods under Israeli sovereignty.’
Tamir said he thinks his ‘two states solution’ will solve Israeli and Palestinian central issues, which he defines as ‘freedom, sovereignty, democracy, normality and economic prosperity.
‘Individually, the Israelis want security and the Palestinians want a viable state and solution for their refugees,’ he said
Unfortunately, Tamir said, there are many obstacles preventing the Israelis and Palestinians from instigating a plan.
‘There’s a lack of trust and a lack of belief’ between the Palestinians and the Israelis, Tamir said. ‘The Israelis will accept the solution, but there’s no partner. The Palestinians understand only power and violence.’
Tamir also said there is a lack of cohesive identity within the two groups, leading to harmful disunity. ‘There are fundamental questions that need to be answered. Who are we Israelis?’ he asked. ‘What does it mean to be Palestinian? These are fundamental questions that need to be answered in order to define the final borders.’
Elitism is also a deterrent to establishing peace in the Middle East, according to Tamir.
‘Diplomats are discussing within themselves a solution,’ he said. ‘They are detached from the people and can’t mobilize the people themselves.’
The ultimate obstacle, Tamir said, is the fact that ‘the past and present eclipse the future. The past is very complicated. The only thing that we can do is start to deal with the future.’
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