Livni- four years ago a legitimate contender for the role of Prime Minister, and since four weeks ago the first building block of the new Netanyahu coalition and the appointed new engine of Israeli/Palestinian peace talks — is not even a must-hear speaker at the conference. I went inside anyways: things have changed for the worse for Livni, but they can just as easily change back for the better.
2. The afternoon was dedicated to the two-state solution, one of only "two
options" if we are to believe Livni — two states for two people or one state for
no people. Obviously, some of Livni`s future coalition partners have a more
creative imagination, and can think about other options.
3. Livni said some things that I can barely understand, such as 'the problem
with Turkey needs to be solved'. How? By whom? When she says that it needs to be
solved it might create the impression (intentionally or not) that Israel isn't
trying hard enough to amend the relationship. If that's the case, I'd like to
hear why Israel is at fault here. If not, Livni should better formulate her
message.
4. Enough about Livni, though. She was followed by a panel. Rob Danin, Mike
Herzog, Shlomo Avineri, Yoaz Hendel, Nati Sharoni, Danny Dayan — smart people,
some of who are also my friends. Barak Ravid of Haaretz moderated. He began by
joking that getting the man from Haaretz to moderate such panel is a cliché, and
then moved on to make it a cliché by speaking at length about his dislike of the
occupation. It was not an easy panel to moderate, not an easy one to follow.
Seriously, an afternoon discussion about the viability of the two-state
solution? Spending an afternoon listening to more talk of "bottom up",
"delegitimazation", "sustainability", "direct talks", "American engagement",
"incremental steps", "final status"? When the beach is so close and the
temperature is so high?5. Avineri, while supportive of the two-state solution, explained why peace is untenable at the moment. As a pragmatic way of moving forward he suggested to move slowly, manage the conflict, agree on small things — not as substitute to a final status agreement, but rather as a step toward it. If there was an agreement among the panelists, it was about the need to avoid grandiosity and move slowly. If there was disagreement it was about whether such a move would eventually lead to a "two-state" situation.
6. Herzog was adamant: settlements haven't yet brought us to a "point of no
return." That's one myth worth debunking, and Sharoni later joined Herzog in
doing it, armed with a short film in which maps and stats drove the point home.
Settlements surely would not make it easier to achieve peace, but most of the
settlers are in blocs, and most of the territory is still free of permanent
Israeli presence.
7. When will the "window of opportunity" close? No one knows, Herzog said. He
didn't say this, but I would add: there will be no official announcement or a
ceremony marking the grand closing of the window. (And windows can be closed and
then reopened)8. Hendel stole the show by doing something simple: the peace seekers' club speaks too much English and too little Arabic and Hebrew. Since the Herzliya conference takes place in Israel, Hendel chose to speak in Hebrew. He was the first panelist to speak Hebrew (Sharoni, following him, also spoke Hebrew, Dayan, who spoke last, felt a need to explain why he'd rather speak English — to let the guests from abroad hear a settler uninterrupted by translation). Speaking Hebrew in this case isn't about sending a nationalistic message, it is about reminding the participants and the audience that Israelis will be the ones making decisions and living with the consequences, and they should be the ones convinced that a two-state solution is in their best interest (Hendel doesn`t think the solution is currently attainable).
9. So, is the two-state solution over? A recent TNR headline - "the end of the
two-state solution" (by Ben Birnbaum) — implied that it is. But it's not. What
works as a headline for a panel or for a journalistic report doesn't always work
in reality. In fact, it doesn't even work for Birnbaum. Beneath the dramatic headline,
all he claims in his worthy and interesting piece is that currently "the
essential conditions for peace remain" and that "by the end of Barack Obama’s
presidency, however, every one of these circumstances could vanish — and if that
happens, the two-state solution will vanish along with them." So it hasn't yet
vanished: "if" certain things happen, then "by the end of Obama's term," namely
in four years or so, "circumstances could" make the solution vanish.
10. The fact of the matter is that it is totally irrelevant whether the
"solution" is going to vanish or not in two years or four years or eleven, if it
can't be implemented. And the panel didn't seem to be convinced that
implementation is near.
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