AJC: Harvard's One-State Conference A Non-Starter

BOSTON, Feb. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC today voiced deep concerns about the One-State Conference that will take place at Harvard University from March 3-4.

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"The one-state idea is a recipe for Israel's destruction," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "Those promoting this proposition, including the Harvard conference organizers, should be honest and transparent about their motives. They are not remotely offering a peace option."

The Harvard conference, according to its student organizers, aims to explore the "merits" of a solution to the conflict that envisions Israelis and Palestinians sharing a single state, and the obstacles to realizing that vision.

"The conference's roster of speakers reveals that the goal of the organizers is endorsement of a concept that would totally and completely set back any prospects for a negotiated and sustainable peace," said Harris.

For example, Ali Abunimah, a leading anti-Israel activist in the U.S., advocate for the one-state solution, and co-founder of the Electronic Intifada, is one of the conference's main speakers.

"The one-state idea, using language that may be deemed more palatable to Western ears, has become a favored vehicle for continuing the bitter struggle to bring an end to the Jewish state," said Harris.

Notably, the head of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government (KSG), Dean David Ellwood, has expressed concerns about the conference substance. "I am deeply disappointed to see that the list of speakers for this student conference is so one-sided.  While not all speakers support the so called 'one-state solution,' I would certainly have expected to see a much broader debate on a topic that is so contentious," said Ellwood.

Harris emphasized that "Israel's creation in 1948, and recognition by the UN, fulfilled the two-millennia-long aspirations of the Jewish people for return to sovereignty and homeland."

"The Harvard One-State Conference, promoting the denial of the Jewish right to self-determination, contravenes the efforts of all who truly seek peace," Harris added. "A two-state solution, emerging from direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, is the only path to sustainable peace.  Meanwhile, a so-called one-state solution is a non-starter, except for those who seek a world without Israel."

SOURCE American Jewish Committee