The 1948 creation of Israel was a mistake

Imho, one does not have to approve of the Israeli government's continued occupation of West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem (all Palestinian Territories that were designated to the Palestinians by the U. N. partition), with its constantly harsh and humiliating treatment of innocent Palestinian civilians (i. e. men, women and children), the demolition of Palestinians' homes, the deprivation of food, water, electricity and medical care, the building of Israeli jewish settlements on those above-mentioned Palestinian territories, and the treatment of Palestinians by rightwing Israeli Jewish settlers to realize that the State of Israel came into existence for a reason; to normalize the Jews and to provide a country for them, as protection against a repeat of the horrific events of Jewish history, if one gets the drift. I will also add that Israel is the only country with a Jewish majority. Unlike in Ireland, Italy, Greece, and most other countries, in which the peoples of such countries were the majorities, the Jews were a tiny minority in all the countries from which they fled, when the Nazis occupied them. This, imho, makes the existence of a country (Israel) with a Jewish majority even more necessary.

The Palestinians, too, were oppressed and exploited for many years, not only by Israel, but by the surrounding Arab countries as well, who exploited the Palestinians as a political football to make war against the newly-formed State of Israel for the first 40 years of Israel's existence. In 1947-1948, the land in question was to be divided up into two independent, sovereign nation-states; The Jewish State of Israel and the State of Palestine (comprised of West Bank and Gaza Strip and Arab East Jerusalem) right alongside each other. (Jerusalem was supposed to be an international city and a shared Capitol between the two states; Jewish West Jerusalem the Capitol of Israel, and Arab East Jerusalem the Capitol of Palestine.) That did not happen because the Arab world back then, including the Palestinians, were very obstructionist and rejected the State of Israel's existence out of hand, which was the case for the first 40 years of israel's existence. While Israel voted to accept the U. N./British sponsored partition of the land in question, the Arab world, including the Palestinians rejected it, and the Arab countries deliberately led the Palestinians on with all kinds of honeyed promises that the State of Israel would be destroyed, and that the Palestinians would be able to go back to living on the land that they'd once lived on. That didn't happen, because Israel fought back...and prevailed. Having said all of the above, the Palestinians, too, need their own independent, sovereign nation-state to normalize them and protect them against future oppression and exploitation, as well.

The two-state solution, which is the only safe, sane and sensible solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian debacle, hasn't happened, because both the Arab world and Israel alike, in their own ways, have been very obstructionist and have a long history of rejecting the two-state solution. I personally think that Israel must withdraw her troops and rightwing Jewish settlers from West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem...now, and allow the Palestinians to create their own independent, sovereign nation-state alongside Israel, as opposed to being in place of Israel the way lots of people want.

Many, if not most Israelis do not approve of their government's policies in the Occupied Territories and advocate the evacuation of their rightwing Jewish settlers and the withdrawal of their troops from those territories back into Israel proper, and inside the pre-1967 borders (inside the Green Line.) Many Israelis, although they don't necessarily mind serving in their amy, have refused to serve in the Occupied Territories, feeling (correctly) that their occupation of Palestinian lands not only degrades the Palestinians, but also degrades Israel as a society and as a people.

The United States has not been, and still is not, an honest broker in this debacle. It will take a joint effort on the part of the United States, the UN, and the International Community to get Israel to withdraw from the Occupied Territories and incorporate the two-state solution. It must be done...now, for the sake of Israel, as well as the Palestinians.

I agree that the two-state solution is the only safe, sane and sensible solution to this whole decades-old debacle between Israel and her Arab neighbors. I'm not sure that divestment is the answer, but the more people in Israel, the United States, and throughout the world generally speak out on behalf of the two-state solution, the better it'll be, if one gets the drift.

One big obstacle to peace in the region, however, which nobody seems to mention, but bears mentioning here is the persistent refusal of all parties to the decades-old Israeli-Arab debacle (i. e. Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab States) to openly and squarely face up to their accountability in this whole thing. Israel and the Palestinians have still not gotten past the finger-pointing stage. While the coming out and openly and squarely facing up to accountability in this decades-old debacle on the part of Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab States may seem like a small, unimportant step, it would be a very big and very important step. Until that step is taken, the movements towards peace in the region cannot and will not occur.