The Future of Israelis & Palestinians Are Intertwined: Peter Beinart on His Belief in a Single Democratic State, Gaza, and More

Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

On this edition of Paralalx Views, Peter Beinart, the Editor-at-Large for Jewish Current and author of The Beinart Notebook Substack, joins the show to discuss his views on Israel/Palestine amidst the war in Gaza. In his 2020 Jewish Currents article "Yavne: A Jewish Case for Equality in Israel-Palestine", Beinart definitively moved on from his two-state solution position on Israel/Palestine by declaring, "The two-state solution is dead. It’s time for liberal Zionists to abandon Jewish–Palestinian separation and embrace equality." In other words, he became a proponent of a One Democratic State solution for Israel/Palestine that advocates equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis alike. Beinart's positions sent shockwaves through the Israel/Palestine discourse due to his high-profile as a journalist and commentator.

He joined me on this edition of the show to discuss why he sees the fates and futures of Palestinians and Israeli Jews as being intertwined. We'll discuss how he came to his positions and his own intellectual evolution as well as his writings addressing subjects like the American Jewish Establishment (no, he's not talking about an antisemitic conspiracy theory, but rather the institutions that make up the American Jewish community), the dual loyalty trope, antisemitism, anti-Palestinian bigotry, and much, much more. And, of course, amidst this discussion the issue of the war in Gaza and Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which has claimed an estimated 25k+ Palestinian lives, after the October 7th Hamas attack will be part of the conversation. Peter will also offer his thoughts on pushes for a ceasefire, the beliefs of Rep. Rashida Tlaib, what he believes needs to change about U.S. policy on Israel/Palestine, and a potpourri of other topics as well.