Biden recklessly pursues Friedman’s failed two-state solution
President Biden’s thinking continues to be extraordinarily influenced by New York Times (NYT) Foreign Affairs Opinion columnist Thomas Friedman.
On 14 November, Friedman advised Biden to:
“articulate an American vision for how the Gaza war must end. That would require a Biden administration plan to create two states for two indigenous peoples living in the areas of Gaza, the West Bank and Israel.”
On 18 November Biden duly did Friedman’s bidding – publishing an Opinion article in the Washington Post:
“A two-state solution — two peoples living side by side with equal measures of freedom, opportunity and dignity — is where the road to peace must lead. Reaching it will take commitments from Israelis and Palestinians, as well as from the United States and our allies and partners. That work must start now…
… As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution…
Sorry to disappoint you Mr President – you are flogging a dead horse that has been around for 20 years – has gone nowhere – and will continue to go nowhere.
As I have pointed out in many previous articles – this dead horse belongs to Thomas Friedman – who wrote an article in 2002 detailing his personal involvement in helping formulate the two-state solution – an independent Palestinian Arab State between Israel and Jordan – which was adopted by Saudi Arabia and the Arab League as the Arab Peace Initiative shortly thereafter.
On 23 December 2016, the United Nations resuscitated Friedman’s going-nowhere 2002 solution – after Vice-President Biden and President Obama obligingly failed to veto Security Council Resolution 2334 – enabling Friedman to keep pushing his solution for the last seven years.
I understand how hard it is for Friedman to acknowledge that 20 years of his life has been wasted unsuccessfully flogging his passionately-held solution to end the Jewish-Arab conflict.
It happened to me after I began writing in 1974 that Jordan comprised 76.9% of former Palestine – leading to my founding an international movement – the Jordan is Palestine Committee – in 1980 – calling for Judea and Samaria (West Bank) to be divided between Israel and Jordan.
I was devastated when the 1993 Oslo Accords put paid to my solution.
All I could do thereafter was cop it on the chin.
So I began writing articles on how dangerous an independent Palestinian Arab state between Israel and Jordan would be for Israel – that there was no need for a second Arab state – in addition to Jordan – in former Palestine.
Imagine my surprise when my 1980 Jordan is Palestine solution – on steroids – was miraculously resurrected on 8 June 2022 with the publication in Saudi Arabia of the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution (HKOPS) – authored by an advisor to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) – calling for the merger of Gaza, part of the West Bank and Jordan into one territorial entity.
HKOPS trashed the 2002 Friedman/Saudi /Arab League plan and its United Nations 2016 resuscitator.
I wrote to Friedman on 30 August 2022 requesting he write an article about HKOPS.
He refused.
I sent Friedman my article dated 5 December 2022 which queried:
“Why has the NYT not informed its readers of the Saudi Plan – which also offers Israel sole sovereignty in Jerusalem and in part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank)? If that’s not front- page news – what is?”
No response.
President Biden – the road to peace after the Israel-Gaza War involves you:
- Jettisoning Friedman’s failed two-state solution
- Personally embracing HKOPS
- Securing MBS, Arab League and UN endorsements to implement HKOPS
- Moving to rescind Security Council Resolution 2334.
Please join my Facebook Page: “Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine supporters”
Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.
David Singer is a Sydney lawyer and a foundation member of the International Analysts Network
You have unflagging energy, David, and do great work. We must persevere. For the life of me I can’t understand why Friedman thinks he can advise President Biden on anything, and Biden himself, I suppose, straddles various horses in what he has to say anyway.