Noam Chomsky has long been an advocate of a just solution in the conflict between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs. And when I say “long” I mean for decades. So when Noah Cohen accused Chomsky of “left apologetics” in calling for a “realistic” approach to the problem, Cohen laid himself open to the scathing intellectual rigor of Chomsky. Chomsky is one of the most clear-thinking intellectuals in the world. And one of the things I admire most about him is that he eschews utopianism and always stresses a pragmatic path without wavering on principles. You can read the discussion here.
“Attention to feasible programs of action is sometimes dismissed as realism or pragmatism, and is placed in opposition to acting on principle. That is a serious delusion. There is nothing principled about refusal to pay attention to the real world and the options that exist within it including, of course, the option of making changes, if a feasible course of action can be developed…Those who ignore or deride such realism and pragmatism, however well-intentioned they may be, are simply choosing to ignore the consequences of their actions. The delusion is not only a serious intellectual error, but also a harmful one, with severe human consequences. That should be clear without further elaboration.”
While I have also written that I advocate the binational solution, I agree 100% with this comment by Chomsky:
“A second possible stand is support for a binational settlement, perhaps a federal arrangement of the kind that has long been discussed and exists successfully elsewhere, or in some other form. This stand moves from rhetoric and posturing to true advocacy when it is accompanied by a feasible program of action. There is such a program, with two essential steps. The first is to implement a two-state settlement in accord with the international consensus, and reversing the escalating cycle of hostility, hatred, violence, repression, and dispossession. The second step is to proceed from there. For reasons that are clear to anyone familiar with the region, two states in cis-Jordan make little sense, and both communities have good reasons to seek further integration. That is a feasible program, but only in steps.”
Finally, like Chomsky, I believe the no-state solution is the best, and not just in this conflict.