The Trump policy to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was designed to play to a tranch of his constituency, both the Jewish hardliners and Christian fundamentalists, that supports the objectives of Zionism for a single Jewish state in the Middle East. Unfortunately as David Halbfinger in The New York Times reports, the Emboldened Israeli Right Presses Moves to Doom 2-State Solution.
That makes negotiating any reasonable solution to this complex problem even more difficult. A possible way forward was proposed by Ross Salinger (Carlsbad, California) in a comment that is worth serious consideration. With no way to obtain permission to quote him here, I will quote him any way.
A two state solution seems to have been dead for a long time. That's entirely due to the simple fact that a state founded as a homeland for a religious group is fundamentally theocratic in nature. The wars fought in 1948,1967 and 1973 not to mention all the "incursions" since then have created facts on the ground that cannot be ignored. At this point the best policy that the west can have is to abandon the two state dream in favor of one state with a secular constitution. That's the only way to get the Palestinians out of the twin traps of poverty and racism. We should change out policy and provide aid to Israel ONLY to aid in the integration of the Palestinian people. It's the least worse solution.
As a Christian and a Humanist, I strenuously object to the Trump position and I believe that it represents neither the will nor the interests of the American people, and it certainly does not represent a Christian or a humanist perspective on the current situation.
The present situation will result in more bloodshed. Is this worth consideration?
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