Introducing Levantia

A two-state solution is finally realised in chapter 19 of PAX ARABICA. (But which two states?)

In chapter 18, we dreamed of a Middle East beyond Pax Arabica — a non-imperial reality of nation states and flourishing minorities in their ingenious region. We didn’t pretend that it would be easy, or even likely, for in a region of arrogant Arab-imposed dominance, only strength has the power to maintain the (cold) peace. Nonetheless, we dreamed the dream —we imagined a Middle East where the paradigm shift towards tolerance had finally taken place.

But what would that mean in the particular Levantine case? In a post-imperial world, how would Palestinians transform themselves from the vanguard of the Empire into a genuine national polity? What would a sustainable two state solution actually look like? You are about to find out….

I am pleased to announce that this text is not just a book chapter. It is Einat Wilf’s favourite Guerre and Shalom article and she has made reference to it “in several contexts.” Please enjoy it and I will see you again for the final chapter when we write an epilogue to the Arab Empire.

PREVIOUSLY IN PAX ARABICA:

A Paradigm Shift for the Middle East?

COMING SOON: Chapter 20 - On the End of the Great Game

PAX ARABICA

CHAPTER 19: On the Post-Imperial Two State Solution

INTRODUCING LEVANTIA

“Of all the men we meet with, nine parts of ten are what they are, good or evil useful or not, by their education. Tis this that makes the great difference in mankind.” [John Locke in ‘Some Thoughts concerning Education’¹]

A new flag for LEVANTIA

This chapter isn’t tongue in cheek. It’s deadly serious. And far from being written with any malice towards the people of the West Bank/Gaza, it is written with a sincere desire to improve their lot. By taking the courageous path below laid out, we will thereby create a better future for all the inhabitants of the Levant. To reach that blessed conclusion, we need to use a level of imagination beyond the minds of the world’s decrepit, aging leadership —and a level of maturity absent on university campuses in the United States. Above all, we will need to stare reality directly in the face; to struggle with the Angel of Death and win. So buckle up. Open your minds. And let us begin.

A two State solution is vital for Israel’s security and democratic future. But for the dream to be realised, that second State cannot be Palestine. To be sure, it would be composed of Palestinian people, but they would no longer be Palestinians. To be sure, it would be in the West Bank and Gaza, but it wouldn't be named Palestine. To achieve a peaceful outcome, there needs to be a complete and total rebrand and in this there is a clear precedent. Nazi Germany was renamed, post-World war II, as the Federal Republic of Germany. Same people. Same territory. Totally different country. Its flag was changed dramatically. And its guiding ideology even more so. The result was extraordinary: Europe’s most successful nation. 

The record shows that over the last one hundred years, Palestine has never sought peace nor ever engaged seriously in peace negotiations. Every advance has been met with silence or worse, outright rejection and bloody violence. To believe - as every American President seems to - that only they are the magic key to peace smacks at best of delusion, at worst of messianism.

I don’t blame the individual Palestinian citizen so much as the overarching culture. We have all worked for toxic companies and that toxicity has seeped into our own bloodstream. Loveless marriages have turned the sanguin into monsters and unfree societies have led to the calm to madness. Palestine is an enterprise that converts sweet, innocent babies into vehicles for hate and we must have the courage to say here and no further.

There are many kind, peace-loving Palestinian individuals. Of that there is no doubt. And there are many aspects of their day-to-day culture that are of great worth; as in all cultures and in all human communities. But the concept of “Palestine” is so infected by violent rejectionism, martyr-worship, faux-resistance and lie defusion that the ordinary, decent Palestinian has no political outlet to funnel their values. And the UN-funded education system turns potential Gandhis into Hannibal Lectors at an all too alarming rate. Enough is enough.

So that Palestinians may realise their undoubted potential; so that enemies can be turned into friends; so that we can clinch peace from the jaws of destruction, I propose a new political horizon. A second State freed from the baggage of Arab imperialism, Islamist terror, Marxist revolution and Middle Eastern madness. A State known only as Levantia.

Levantia is more than a name. It is a shared future of hope.