Jerome Segal, Biden Challenger for 2024 Nomination, Calls for Biden to Recognize the State of Palestine

SILVER SPRING, Md., Aug. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Jerome Segal, the Middle East expert, who, following his recent loss in the Maryland Gubernatorial primary, announced that he would challenge President Biden for the Democratic nomination for President in 2024, has called on the President to recognize the State of Palestine.

https://www.newsweek.com/jerome-segal-announces-2024-presidential-run-democratic-nomination-1727751

Segal issued a statement saying:

"Joe Biden is the first American President in almost half a century to turn his back on the quest for Israeli-Palestinian peace. On his recent visit to the Middle East, Biden said to the Palestinians, 'I know that the goal of the two-state [solution] seems far away... So even if the ground is not ripe at this moment to restart negotiations, the United States and my administration will not give up on trying to bring the Palestinians and the Israelis closer together.' This is truly pathetic, and to say it publicly to a moderate Palestinian President with the most tenuous hold on power, was simply, empty-headed."

Segal further stated:

"Biden said 'I know that the goal of the two-state [solution] seems far away…' --- actually it need not be. The Palestinians issued a Declaration of Independence and proclaimed the State of Palestine in 1988. The State of Palestine is recognized today by 162 countries and is an Observer State at the U.N., not a full member only because of U.S. opposition.

Biden, with an executive order, could tomorrow recognize Palestine and bring the two-state solution a giant step towards fruition."

"With US recognition, all of Western Europe would also follow. The Palestinian Authority would be dissolved, and the PLO would drop out of the picture. Very likely the State of Palestine would come to exercise sovereignty over Gaza, and Hamas, which is not part of the PLO, would recognize the legitimacy of the new State and compete for power within Palestinian democracy."

"Biden will no doubt object and say, 'Palestinian statehood is something that should emerge from negotiations. The United States can't grant the Palestinians something that they need to work out with the Israelis.' To which I say, 'What about Jerusalem? Donald Trump, outside of any negotiations recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. And you, Mr. President, have reaffirmed Trump's position. Why not balance it, with recognition of Palestine, an act that will give new life to the prospects for ending the conflict.'"

"Moreover, Mr. President, when the Palestinians declared independence in 1988 they based the State of Palestine on the United Nations Partition Resolution of 1947, the very document cited in Israel's declaration of independence, and the Palestinians explicitly noted that the UN Resolution called for two states, one Arab and one Jewish."

Segal is arguably the world's foremost expert on such matters. His new book, "The Olive Branch From Palestine: The Palestinian Declaration of Independence and the Path Out of the Current Impasse" (foreword by Noam Chomsky) was published two months ago by U of Ca. Press.

Segal came to international attention in 1988 when his writings were the catalyst for the PLO's decision to unilaterally proclaim a Palestinian state.

(Robert Pear, "Jewish Father for Palestinian State?, New York Times, August 24, 1988) https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/24/us/washington-talk-foreign-affairs-jewish-father-for-palestinian-state.html

For interviews with Dr. Segal, contact him at 445-216-3846 or at [email protected]

SOURCE Jerome Segal For President