A SINGLE STATE SOLUTION
Strategy and Tactics
Roger Tucker September 6, 2004
To sum up the mission we're embarked on, we intend to do whatever we can to assist in the birth of a new nation embracing what are currently the State of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. It is consistent with our vision that the new state be a secular, pluralistic democracy that will proudly take its place among the free nations of the world, and thereby cease to be the principal flash point for the madness and violence that daily threatens the safety and well-being of all. How do we get there?
We principally bend our efforts on identifying and then lending our support to a dedicated group of Israelis and Palestinians who share our vision. We know they're out there; we know who some of them are, and we suspect there are others we haven't yet encountered. First off, we need to identify, cultivate and form an alliance with them.
We must be careful not to limit ourselves to a cozy group, both within and without our circle, of post-modernist, progressive leftists. If we do that, we will have lost the battle before we even begin. On the contrary, we must cultivate good relations and communications with all individuals and factions of the intellectual, religious and political spectrum. Furthermore, we must reach out to people who are right of center and invite them to join us.
It will take the whole village to give birth to this child, and we cannot set up an adversarial situation that will set one group against another. On the other hand, we will waste no time or effort, at least for the time being, on the existing power structures. Let them stew in their rancid juices. Our task is to enlist from the ranks of the people, ordinary people who have no particular ax to grind or power and privileges to protect.
The group of Israelis and Palestinians whom we identify as the leaders must be first and foremost good communicators, journalists, writers, academics, politicians, activists, spiritual leaders and artists. They will be people of good character who can withstand any concerted ad hominem attacks.
The acid test will be their ability to command the attention of people of all stripes and persuasions, basing their arguments on reason and compassion without self-deception or the desire to manipulate others. The purpose is to persuade, not to control. No charismatic populists on an ego trip, no vanguards of the proletariat or whatever, no preachers peddling their tickets to paradise.
Once we have identified the individuals involved and negotiated an alliance with them, basically an understanding that we are all working towards the same end and an agreement to support one another insofar as we our able, our next task begins. It is at this point that we turn over leadership of the movement to our allies on the ground, and take up a supporting role. We would by this time, I imagine, have become a legalized organization, with full non-profit status, either a 501( c )3 or PAC in the US, and/or the equivalent elsewhere, with the ability to solicit and receive tax-deductible contributions.
But first I think it crucial that we understand that we are talking about a group of people some of whom are Israelis and the others Palestinians who are forming a common front. They will have the same agenda and may very well translate the same documents from each other's language (or English, French, whatever) into Hebrew or Arabic, but the public perception will be that they are Israelis talking to Israelis, and Arabs talking to Arabs, and so forth.
Our job then, as the interested outsiders, sort of representing the rest of the world, becomes twofold. We have our own Herculean task of communication within our own circles and countries. We also have to deal with the opinion makers within the larger jewish and muslim (and christian, and the rest) worlds. We Americans will ultimately have what I expect to be the most difficult task of all, changing the view of the White House and the American Congress. If and when that is done, we're done, and can go back to whatever fills our sails. Myself, I'd like to write a book or two, plant some trees, and sail around the world.
In the meantime there is our second task. We must provide whatever aid and support we can to our Israeli and Palestinian allies. This involves the usual stuff, fundraising, public relations, providing information and research, opening channels of communication, putting out fires, etc., etc. They're going to need a lot of outside help.
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