Forum Post: dr finkelstein

Al-Manar Website: Do you think "Israel" will be able to make the whole world recognize it as a Jewish state?

Dr. Finkelstein: Israel's principal goal right now is to consolidate politically its achievements since the Oslo agreement was signed in 1993. Practically, this means it wants to annex the major settlement blocs that constitute approximately 10 percent of the West Bank, along the path of the Wall it has been building. It also wants to liquidate the refugee question. The Palestinians have never been weaker politically. Regionally, they have no allies, and internally they have neither leadership nor popular resistance. It's quite possible that Israel will succeed in imposing a historic defeat on the Palestinians through U.S. Secretary of State Kerry's current negotiations.

Al-Manar Website: Is the two state solution a functionable or workable now?

Dr. Finkelstein: The international community has called for a resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict on the basis of two states along the 1967 border and a "just" solution of the Palestinian refugee question. Judging by the annual votes in the United Nations General Assembly, the entire world supports this formula, except the U.S., Israel and a handful of South Pacific islands. This is not a philosophical or even a moral question. It is a strictly political question, although it is also backed with the force of international law. I see no political basis for any other solution to the conflict, because no other solution has significant political support in the world.

Al-Manar Website: How do you assess the safety of Israel after all that happened and is happening in the region?

Dr. Finkelstein: It cannot be doubted that Israel's political existence for the foreseeable future is secure. It is thriving economically and faces no significant military threats. It is pointless to project into the future. I lived long enough to see the fall of the Soviet Union, the end of Apartheid, and a Black man elected president in the United States. The future is full of surprises, mostly unpredictable