In the debate about Israel on our campuses and in our community, often the loudest and most extreme voices get the most attention. However, the reality is more nuanced.
The recent “Statement by American Federation of Teachers Guild Local 1931, Regarding the Occupied Palestinian Territories” has stirred up significant controversy that continues to roil San Diego community colleges and beyond.
In our view, focusing on that discussion diverts attention from a genuinely constructive approach to the Israel-Palestinian conflict that is currently on the table: The Two-State Solution Act (H.R. 5344), authored by Michigan Rep. Andy Levin. There are currently 35 co-sponsors, including San Diego Congresswoman Sara Jacobs.
As members of the San Diego Chapter of J Street, a national organization that advocates for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we believe one can love and support Israel AND advocate for the rights of the Palestinian people. It is possible both to support Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and to call for a Palestinian state. The Two-State Solution Act makes major strides toward advancing that prospect.
The bill seeks to ensure that U.S. policies in the region are truly aligned with our ultimate goal of resolving the conflict and with America’s commitment to security, human rights and self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians.
It makes clear that the United States should not in any way legitimize or empower the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements or the entrenchment of occupation. It officially reverses destructive steps taken by President Trump that legitimized illegal settlements and erased the distinction between Israel and the territory it occupies.
Further, the bill reaffirms support for current levels of U.S. security assistance to Israel while applying clear end-use restrictions on this aid to ensure it can only be used for legitimate security needs and cannot be diverted to support the expansion of settlements and creeping annexation of Palestinian territory. It is reasonable that U.S. aid to Israel be subject to transparency requirements and end-use restrictions required of other countries.
The bill supports the restoration of diplomatic engagement by urging the reopening of the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem and encouraging the reopening of the PLO mission in Washington, DC.
It also calls for enhancing people-to-people programming via funding for shared educational activities. Some of the most encouraging—and little reported—stories coming out of this part of the world involve activities that bring Israeli and Palestinian young people together, like the Jerusalem Youth Chorus, a group of Israeli and Palestinian singers that gave an inspiring concert in San Diego a few years ago.
At a Sept. 23 press conference announcing the bill, Rep. Jacobs said, “It’s up to us to ensure that our actions are matching our rhetoric. That if we say the policy of the United States is a two-state solution, as it has been on a bipartisan basis for decades, that our actions are moving us closer to that goal, not further away.”
Jacobs spoke of traveling to the Middle East last summer and meeting with Israeli and Palestinian officials. “We strongly reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to a two-state solution and to lasting peace, security, autonomy, and dignity for both the Israeli and Palestinian people,” she said. “Now, with this bill, we can further cement that commitment.”
It may be tempting to take a black-or-white position, whether it’s “Israel can do no right” or “Israel can do no wrong,” and to vilify anyone who holds the opposing view. But instead of hurling invective, we should move forward toward solutions to the very difficult challenge of bringing peace to this region.
We urge those who, like us, care deeply about the future of Israel and the Palestinians to avoid simplistic arguments and consider the complex, challenging steps that might lead to a genuine two-state solution: democratic national homelands for the Jewish and Palestinian peoples, living side-by-side in peace, freedom, and security.
Janice Steinberg is a novelist.She lives in Bankers’ Hill. Peter Gourevitch is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at University of California, San Diego. He lives in Solana Beach. They are members of the San Diego chapter of J Street.