Raja Halwani, assistant professor of philosophy at the School of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago, gave a talk to the Hamilton community on October 28 titled, "The Just Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict." Halwani is the fifth speaker in the Levitt Public Affairs Center series on Immigration and Global Citizenship.
Halwani, a citizen of Lebanon, advocated a bi-national solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, believing that the more popular two-state solution is merely a stepping stone that will eventually require revision. Halwani used a moral philosophical approach to tackle the problem, and in many cases intentionally ignored the historical argument, which neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians have agreed upon themselves.
Halwani was especially interested in the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. He gave the example, "If I leave my house as firefighters extinguish a fire there, it does not follow that I have given up my right to return there ever again." While Halwani was a strong advocate of right of return, he was also quick to point out that he believes only a small percentage of the refugees would want to return to the state of Israel, and that most would rather relocate to the West Bank or the Gaza Strip.
Halwani's bi-national solution settles this worry of right of return because it creates a single government with equal representation not determined by demographics, as the Palestinian population is slated to outgrow the Israeli population by 2020 if not before. Halwani sees the creation of a single state that would protect the cultural autonomy of the Palestinians and the Israelis, embrace the symbols and language of both and provide a single government that could handle its citizens needs. Halwani sees the two-state solution as an important step toward a resolution, but by no means the answer. He believes that the two-state plan will highlight differences and encourage segregation and dislike between the two groups.
Answering questions, Halwani suggested that the belief that Palestinians are anti-Semitic is untrue. He pointed out that historically, while the two groups have never gotten along well, there was never the stereotyping and persecution of Jews as there was in Europe, but instead that what is now seen as Palestinian anti-Semitism has more recently grown out of anger towards the Israelis. Halwani said, "Israel has not recognized the Palestinian right to have a sovereign state with safe and secure borders." He believes that once a solution is agreed upon, much of the anger will be diffused and as a result the anti-Semitism will die out.
