The One State Solution (3/3)

Recently, I began sharing chapters from a manuscript in progress. It’s working title is: The One State Solution: Making Sense of the Israeli Conflicts and How to Fix it.

See post one, here.

See post two, here.

Chapter 2: Why This Is Important

This book, by necessity, speaks extensively about the Jewish people. Israel and the Jews are deeply interconnected—historically, spiritually, and politically. To understand the broader picture, especially the third dimension referenced earlier, we must explore the Jewish story in depth.

The central premise of this book is that both the relentless hostility toward Israel and Israel’s repeated failure to effectively respond are rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding. Most discourse—whether in criticism or defense—is trapped in a two-dimensional framework.

Since its founding 75 years ago, Israel has faced escalating condemnation. Despite numerous efforts—territorial concessions, prisoner releases, peace overtures—hostility toward Israel, and by extension toward Jews globally, has only intensified. These efforts have not led to peace or understanding. Why? Because the conversation remains stuck in two dimensions.

The pattern is familiar:

• • Israel claims self-defense; critics claim occupation.
• • Israel sees itself as a victim; others label it a colonizer.
• • Israel seeks peace; its adversaries seek destruction.

This binary back-and-forth leads nowhere. Progress is impossible when the framework itself is flawed. To move forward, we must adopt a three-dimensional perspective—one that includes origin, purpose, and destiny. Only then can clarity emerge. Only then can people begin to understand what must be done.

Here lies the core dilemma: It’s impossible to plan the next step if you don’t know your destination. Without a clear sense of direction, every move is uncertain.

Consider a scene from the classic film The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy, lost and longing to return home, asks which path to take. The response is simple but profound: “If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter which way you go.” The same principle applies here. To know where to go, you must first understand where you came from and why you’re here.

Let’s draw a parallel from American history. The Declaration of Independence, written in 1776, remains a powerful expression of purpose and vision:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal… endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights… Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The American founders knew their origin: British subjects taxed without representation. They knew their purpose: to build a better society. They knew their direction: to secure freedom and spread those ideals.

That clarity gave birth to a nation. And even today, people around the world look to America as a beacon of those values.

Everything begins with origin. From there, purpose emerges. And with purpose, direction becomes clear.

Now, we turn to the Jewish people.

• • Where did the Jews begin?
• • What is their purpose?
• • Where are they going?

This book draws from traditional Jewish sources—texts that have preserved the most detailed and enduring account of any nation’s history. These sources, listed in the bibliography, are the most authoritative and reliable foundation for understanding Jewish identity, mission, and destiny.

The Torah’s transmission of historical events—from Creation through the unfolding of human history—is unparalleled in its precision and depth. No other tradition places such emphasis on detail. In Jewish thought, every nuance is considered significant and sacred. This book reflects that approach, and to support this concept, I’ve included a bibliography with explanations that expand on the idea.

All source material referenced in this work originates in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Yiddish. Any quoted text is drawn directly from the original sources; none of the quotations are paraphrased or adapted. They are presented exactly as they appear in the texts.

To maintain clarity and brevity throughout, I use the term “the written transmission” to refer to this meticulous and faithful record.

In the next chapter, we begin with the foundational figure of the Jewish people: Abraham—the George Washington of the Jewish story.