November 19, 2009

Israelis talk often and loudly about their desires for peace. But its never been clear precisely what peace concept it is they desire. In particular, Israeli notions of peace have never gone so far as to grant the Palestinians the same national rights that Israelis claim for themselves. Well, according to a new poll by Israeli National News (disclaimer: its a right-wing rag, sample size “more than 6,400″), a majority of Israelis are clear about what kind of “peace” they desire.

53.2% of surveyed Israelis say the “solution” to the conflict was the ethnic cleansing (”transfer”) of Palestinians out of occupied Palestine and into other neighboring Arab countries. This was the most popular option among all alternatives, including the two state solution, Jordanian citizenship in the West Bank, status quo, etc. For comparative purposes, only 30.8% of Israelis support the “two-states for two peoples” framework for peace.

Keep this information in mind next to you hear Israeli hasbara about “partners for peace” or when someone tries to claim that the two-state solution is the only “realistic” solution to the conflict. If only those Palestinians would “recognize Israel’s right to exist”, then everything would be SO much better.