The genocide in Gaza has led to discussions and negotiations regarding "the day after"—i.e. the kind of rule in Gaza after the aggression ends. The Palestinian position on that is contingent on the overall Palestinian vision for liberation. This comes within the context of the obvious failure of the two-state "solution" which has led a number of Palestinians, Israelis and activists to suggest several "one state" versions as alternative options which are often contradictory and have little in common: the options range from the Zionist scheme for Greater Israel, to calling for "equal rights" under the control and dominance of Israel, to a federal or confederal state, to one binational state (OBS) for two nationalities, and finally to one democratic state (ODS) for all its citizens. This article will focus on establishing the basic differences between OBS and ODS.
Understanding the basic foundations of Zionism
An analysis of Zionism reveals at least three basic ideological foundations. First, Zionism is a typical European nation-state movement. In his pamphlet The Jewish State, Herzl did not shy away from attributing appropriate terminology to describe his plan to colonize a non-European land by Jews. To him settlements meant colonies; departing Jews stood for colonists; the method by which to obtain sovereignty guaranteed by a European power indicates that a European power must be found to award the Zionists with a Charter to establish "a Jewish home" under its protection (this was realized in 1917 when Great Britain awarded the Zionists a charter to colonize Palestine).
Second, Zionism claims that Jews worldwide constitute a single national group with collective rights, including the right to self-determination and to a state exclusive to them. All kinds of arguments are brought forward to support this claim: that the Jewish God gave the "Land of Canaan" to the Jewish people; that Jews share a historical connection with the land of Palestine and are entitled to return to their homeland, settle it, and make it bloom again; that Jews have been victims of antisemitism for thousands of years and can only be safe in a state exclusive to them.
Third, Zionism is a settler-colonial movement. Herzl admits that the Jewish state was not breaking away from a mother country, but it must be its production. Until his death in 1904, Herzl did not finalize in his own mind the location for this Jewish state. In his pamphlet the countries of Argentina and Palestine were mentioned by name, but Israel was not — A person who is dealing with a divine promise or a historical national connection or engaged in a national liberation of a homeland would not have been confused regarding the name or location of that homeland. Zionism collaborated with antisemites (including Nazi Germany) to dismantle ancient Jewish communities to transport Jews out of Europe and to liquidate their assets. It stripped Jews of their inalienable rights to be equal citizens that are entitled to exercise their right to self-determination, better their living conditions, enjoy equality, tranquility, and live in dignity in their countries of origin, and instead turned them into settlers colonists oppressing other people.
The Zionists' claim to self-determination on nationalist grounds has come to clash with the Palestinians' right to self-determination on the basis of being a native people residing in its land. It is this clash that both OBS and ODS claim to offer a solution to. Then, where do they stand regarding Zionism's three foundations?
Analyzing OBS
Like Zionism, OBS adopts the nation-state model and speaks of "Palestinian nationalism" that is exclusive of Jews and needs to be "reconciled" with the sovereignty of the state. It argues that the establishment of a Palestinian state equals the establishment of "a nation-state". This is a sharp contrast with and dismissal of the actual Palestinian ODS vision for a Palestinian state that repudiates the nation-state model and explicitly states that Jews would have the option of obtaining full Palestinian citizenship. OBS also explicitly mentions that the Constitution will protect "collective national rights".
OBS also agrees with Zionism's politicization of identity and claim that Israeli Jews form a single national group with collective rights, including the "right to self-determination that is integral to a group's national existence and must be respected".
Finally, OBS uses the term "decolonization of Israel" to obfuscate its true intentions. This usage of this term assumes that the land is originally Israeli. If this is the case, then Israeli Jewish settler colonists have certain national rights that remains with them as a collective even if the state of Israel ceases to exist.
OBS proposes to resolve this glaring fundamental contradiction by calling on Palestinians to forget about liberation and asking "both national groups" to accommodate each other's "right to self-determination" and to agree to what it calls "sufficient sovereignty". Here, OBS equates between the rights of the Palestinian people to return to their homeland, reclaim their properties, and exercise self-determination in Palestine with the privileges of Jewish colonial settlers to remain as an ethnic group with national rights albeit with less privileges. OBS advocacy leaves the basic principles of Jewish settler colonialism unchanged.
ODS: The fundamental antithesis to Zionism
By contrast, ODS is a vision for the liberation and decolonization of Palestine. Instead of accommodating Zionist settler colonialism, it proposes dismantling and replacing it with a state based on three principles:
- One: A unitary state that will have exclusive sovereignty, one people the Palestinians (no closed or exclusive national or cultural groupings or states within the one state) who are equal under the laws of the state and its ultimate authority, and one unified citizenship which is the same to all citizens that is of Palestine, regardless of their religion, ethnicity, or gender.
- Democratic: The system of government will be constitutional and democratic. It will guarantee rights, liberties and freedoms including the rights of freedom of expression and thought, of the press, assembly, petitioning government for redress of grievances, formation of civic and professional organization, creating and participating in political parties. No undemocratic or exclusive organizations or parties will be allowed. The right of individuals to worship will be protected and to live in a state that has no official religion.
- State: The state will have a constitution, an identified people who are equal under the law (no subgroups of any kind or preferential treatment rendered to anyone), including judgment for past war crimes, recognized borders, and a democratically elected recognized government by its citizens in open and free elections.
Speaking of a democratic state in Palestine for all its citizens implies that the state will treat, attend, and administer the affairs of its individual citizens equally — not as national ethnic groups. By breaking free from Zionist nationalist rhetoric and refusing to deal with citizens or residents based on their national or cultural identity, ODS forms the fundamental antithesis, not only to Zionism, but to the colonial nation-state model and its ideological foundations beyond the borders of Palestine.
Historically, settler colonialism ended either by the subjugation or ethnic cleansing of the native population or the dismantling of the imposed structure of settler colonialism. Therefore, the choice is not between OBS and ODS but between Zionism and ODS. Adopting ODS as our vision for liberation is a crucial counter-hegemonic objective. By realizing ODS, the Palestinians' struggle for the decolonization of Palestine will have triumphed and humankind will have drawn one step closer toward its global goal to end colonialism.
