Palestinian Recognition

We all would love a stable, single, democratic state between the river and the sea.  The problem is that is not in the cards in the foreseeable future.  Here is what Uri Avnery wrote today (http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1419008088/)

These, then, are the battle lines:

A Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty, the end of the occupation, peace between Israel and the entire Arab and Muslim world,

or a Greater Israel, continuous occupation or annexation, more settlements and ethnic cleansing, permanent war.

That is the choice we face. 
    1.  Support the Palestinian drive for diplomatic recognition that is supported by all significant Palestinian political groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; that will end the Israeli imposed suffering of the 4.5 million people living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (that includes over 2 million refugees) giving those people a state to back their identity and protect their security and remove the Israeli book from their neck; and likely improve the already OK situation for the over 2 million refugees in Jordan.   
    2.  Reject a Palestinian state either because it leaves Israel with all its internal sins in place, and/or it does nothing directly for the 1 million refugees in Lebanon and Syria (including those recently fled).

I think our task as people of peace is to reduce suffering.  The 9 million Palestinians suffering are those in Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.  A Palestinian state will go some distance in doing that for almost 90% of them.  Note that I understand that Palestinian refugees living midle-class lives in Europe and the U.S. and almost every other state in the world have rights, but those people are not suffering like the Palestinian close to home, and I give their rights low priority.

These considerations tell me that Ali Abunimah (http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/why-i-want-obama-veto-abbas-un-resolution-palestine) and Joseph Massad (http://electronicintifada.net/content/recognizing-palestine-bds-and-survival-israel/14123) are on the wrong side of history by opposing Palestinian recognition.