Former US Ambassador to Israel authors response to two-state proposal

“It’s the response to the post-October 7 argument that the two-state solution is still viable,” said David Friedman, describing his forthcoming book, “One Jewish State.” Friedman was interviewed by Jerusalem Post Editor-in-chief Zvika Klein at the Jerusalem Post Conference on Monday, where he discussed the book and his strategy for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“If you want a good outcome for Israel’s security, if you want a good outcome for the Palestinian people, for their human dignity and their health and welfare, it’s Israeli sovereignty over the entirety of Judea and Samaria,” he said. “It’s a big expansion of the Abraham Accords to get funding to help create the kind of infrastructure, and it’s the creation within the communities of Judea and Samaria that are not Jewish of a paradigm very similar to Puerto Rico, where the people will have local autonomy, will not vote in national elections, but will have certainly a much better quality of life than they have now.”

The three alternatives for the Middle East

Friedman said that there are three alternatives regarding territory in the Middle East. “You can negotiate peace. You can take it [the land], or you can leave it.” He said that negotiating peace has been tried for 50 years and has not worked. Leaving Judea and Samaria would not be a viable solution, Friedman added, because whenever Israel leaves territory, it leaves a vacuum that is filled by terrorists. “You’re left with one alternative, which happens to be the convergence of geopolitics, economics, security, and faith.”

Discussing the upcoming US presidential election, Friedman said that American Jews concerned about antisemitism want two things – the defunding of universities that tolerate antisemitic behavior, and enforcement of the law against those who attack Jews. “I’ll leave it to everybody here who they think is a more likely candidate to bring the defunding of universities and the refunding of the police, whether it’s Trump or Biden.”

Following the interview, Friedman remained on stage and introduced the next speaker, Mike Pence, who served as Vice-President of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump.