Mohey Mowafy, Journal op-ed contributor

Perhaps the briefest version of the history of the Israeli Palestinian saga is a quick look at Wikipediae.

However, my focus today is more about the future than it is about the past. In his brilliant essay (Washington Post, May14, 2021), Martin Indyx made the following assertion: “The U.S. Can Neither Ignore nor Solve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict- Washington Must Actively Manage a Dispute It Cannot End.” We need to be intellectually nimble to comprehend the ominous complexity we face, as Indyx asserts, “we have no other choice.”

I recall a senate hearing when Chief of staff for President GHB, James Baker, was expressing his frustration after coming back from an official visit to Tell Aviv “it is not going to be possible to solve this as long I am greeted by some new settlements every time.” The hurdle-to-peace that James Baker was explaining was the unabated building of new settlements.

While so much has changed since 1948, we seem to have arrived to reaching the “you cannot ignore this anymore” status.

Not all the differences between now and the time Israel had become an independent state are of the same significance and need for explanation at this point, but I continue to urge us all to not totally ignore the news from outside America.

The differences this time are both promising and downright frightening. I will leave classifying them alone for now.

According to the Middle East Institute, opinion polls collected from both Israeli citizens and Palestinian non-citizens show a preference for, get this, not a 2-state solution (ala, Oslo accord almost 20 years ago) but 1-state. Let us face it, that sounds better than zero state, which continues to be the dream for some.

Whether coincidentally or not, our very own poles show a shift in opinions amongst our own law makers’ and folks on the street. They show more support for 1-state as well. As always, the devil of this new “thinking” will be in the details. We, the USA, have a keen interest in keeping that keg from exploding. Not to mention our moral obligation to bring this pain to a much lesser level. It should be made clear that a 1-state must have a constitution guaranteeing equal rights for all citizens.

Some may, legitimately so, wonder about the efficacy of the UN in solving this particular issue. There always a potential “tug” whenever the UN issues a condemnation of an Israeli action.

Whether the critique of the UN is fair or not, can be explored in a different time.

Only days before the Israeli election Prime Minister Netanyahu made this promise his intention to annex the Jordan Valley and every Israeli settlement in the West Bank–a move that would eat up 60 percent of the West Bank and leave the other 40 percent as isolated cantons unconnected to one another.

Irrespective of how you support either side in this conflict, I urge you to consider this with a neutral eyes/ears/hearts/minds.

It is also legitimate to wonder about those packs and deals with Israel and some of the Gulf States. Some wonder about their value in a situation such as this.

There are some good things to say about the work done to bring in Gulf States, but it is less than “right” to work only with opulently wealthy states vis-a-vis working on a plan to bring peace to all.

Editor’s note: Mohey Mowafy of Marquette is a retired Northern Michigan University professor and longtime Mining Journal correspondent.