DSA on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Since its founding in 1983, Democratic Socialists of America has consistently held that peace would only come to the Middle East in a settlement that recognized both the Palestinian and Jewish peoples' rights to self-determination. Whatever one's view of the origins of the conflict, peace can only come if both the Palestinians and Jews of the Middle East live within economically and strategically viable states in which each people feels secure.

Thus we have consistently supported the Palestinian right to a real state that is politically and economically viable. and Israel's right to retain its character as a majority Jewish state, but one that grants full political and civil rights to its Palestinian minority and to all Jews, secular and religious.

The parties have moved towards such a settlement at an agonizing slow pace in which rejectionists in both camps have worked to undermine the peace process by means of unrealistic political demands, and the use of violence, including assassination of the peacemakers. Through out DSA’s history we have supported the peace makers and rejected violence and unrealistic political demands on both sides whose only purpose is to prevent a peace agreement from being reached: such as an unlimited right of return for Palestinian refugees or exclusive control of Jerusalem and Islamic holy sites by Israel. Any viable settlement will require relinquishment by both sides of positions which they hold dear. But that is the essence of a compromise settlement, the only kind that can ever exist.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is among the most tragic in the world. In addition to the thousands killed in the one hundred year war between the two nations, millions of men, women and children have been cruelly and needlessly dispossessed. These refugees include over 600,000 Palestinians driven out or persuaded to leave Israel during the 1948 war, and a comparable number of Jews who involuntarily came to Israel after their lives were made intolerable in 1948 and the years thereafter in a variety of Arab countries. Many of these refugees, including their descendants, continue even now to live in squalid conditions. Ironically while hatred and violence permeate the area, those most responsible for the intractable conflict -- various Western powers -- have largely escaped the enmity of their victims who remain absorbed with fighting each other. However, a just settlement will be expensive, and the nations that for centuries have exploited the resources and strategic location of the area will have to provide substantial assistance to overcome this hate-filled legacy. In particular that assistance will be critical in relocating some, and compensating most, of the refugees in the area.

The main work of settlement and reconciliation will have to be borne by Israelis and Palestinians. The disproportionate Israeli use of force in response to terrorist attacks is predominantly responsible for the horrible and outrageous escalation in violence since the collapse of the Camp David talks. That over ninety per cent of those killed and injured have been Palestinians, often youth, reflects just how disproportionate that use of force has been. Such violence plays into the hands of the rejectionists and arises from Israel's refusal to withdraw unilaterally from much of the occupied territories, particularly areas with large Palestinian populations. Such an act of good faith would greatly enhance chances for peace.

Peace can only come through the cessation of all new settlements; withdrawal from almost all of the occupied territories; and dismantling of those settlements whose existence prevents an integrated, viable Palestinian state from being formed. In addition, Israel must be willing to cede authority over both Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem and turn over governance and sovereignty of predominantly Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem to an independent Palestinian state.

A lasting peace can only come to the Middle East if all states and peoples recognize the right of each other to exist within secure, viable, but non-expansionist national boundaries. DSA and peace forces in both Israel and the Arab world oppose rejectionism on all sides. We welcome the peace treaties between Egypt and Israel and Jordan and Israel and look forward to the signing of a just peace between a secure Israel and all its Arab neighbors, including a viable, independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The economic and political viability of such a state will require diplomatic and economic support from not only the United States, but also the European Union, Russia, and other international agencies acting in good will.

We look forward to a peaceful, just Middle East that can eventually transcend not only the old hatreds, but also the dependence of any states in the region on external super powers. But such a peace can only come through mutual recognition of both the Jewish and Palestinian peoples of the Middle East to viable states over which they exercise popular, democratic sovereignty