Commentary: The 12 - state plan - one country, twelve states

This plan has various components. I suggest that you, the reader, review the entire plan, take a few deep breaths, and then reread and consider each component.

By RABBI ROBERT B. RUBIN
An illustration by Pepe Fainberg (photo credit: PEPE FAINBERG)
An illustration by Pepe Fainberg
(photo credit: PEPE FAINBERG)
THERE HAVE been many “solutions” discussed for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – one state, two states, three states and others, including managing the status quo. There have also been many calls for thinking “out of the box” to resolve this longstanding situation.
Since no one has a crystal ball and knows for sure what “solution” if implemented will actually be the one to work the best, I will call the various proposals “plans” – one state plan, two-state plan, etc. – and EVERY plan has its pros and cons. Often one person’s pro is another person’s con and vice versa.
What I am describing here also has its pros and cons. I do not pretend to dictate any final status arrangements. The Israelis and the Palestinians would be the ones to discuss and negotiate all of that. I offer this plan as a political model to be considered. Various military, economic and social factors are not included in this initial political model, but, of course, they would have to be considered should this model be pursued.
This plan has various components. I suggest that you, the reader, review the entire plan, take a few deep breaths, and then reread and consider each component. Reflect carefully on each component. Consider the bigger picture and reflect on it, and then discuss it respectfully with others who may or may not agree with you. The basic question is: “Could this work?” and I hope that something positive can come from it.
The Psalms (34:15) guide us to “seek peace and pursue it” – not just to want peace, but to pursue peace. It may not be easy, but it is our mandate, and a very ancient mandate at that.
Let’s hope we can rise to the challenge.
Introduction The United States is one country with a federal government with one federal district (Washington, DC) and fifty states each with their own state government (and a few territories, such as Puerto Rico). States vary a lot in cultural identity as well as land area, population numbers and diversity. For a few examples, compare Massachusetts and Texas, California and Alabama, New York and Alaska, and any other pair of states.
In general, the states get along with each other, and when conflicts arise there are paths in place for resolution. One constant issue is federal vs. states rights, and that is part of the political reality in the United States.
No society is perfect, not the American, not the Israeli, not any human society. However, what America and Israel (and some other societies) share in common is the moral value to constantly work to improve and do better.
This Twelve State Plan is hereby submitted in the humble hope that a situation better than the status quo can yet be achieved. The process to move forward lies directly in the hands of the Israelis and Palestinians.
Overall structure There would be one country with twelve states and one federal district. This plan is based upon the lines of the current six districts (mahoz) and fifteen sub-districts (nafa). In the following list, large cities and approximate populations are listed for illustration. The exact population numbers would have to be determined.
Twelve states and a capital Eastern Galilee and the Golan Heights (Tzfat, Tiberias, Katzrin) – currently the Tzfat, Kinneret and Golan sub-districts of the Northern District – 300,000 Western and Central Galilee (Acre, Nazareth) – currently the Acre and Jezreel sub-districts of the Northern District – 1,100,000 Upper Coast (Haifa) – currently the Haifa District (Haifa and Hadera sub-districts) – 1,000,000 Middle Coast (Petah Tikva) – currently the Central District (Sharon, Petah Tikva, Ramla and Rehovot sub-districts) – 2,100,000 Tel Aviv (Tel Aviv-Jaffa) – currently the Tel Aviv District – 1,400,000 Lower Coast (Ashkelon, Ashdod) – currently the Ashkelon sub-district of the Southern District – 500,000 Central Belt (Modiin) – currently the part of the Jerusalem District that is not Jerusalem itself – 200,000 Upper West Bank/Samaria (Nablus) – 1,500,000 Lower West Bank/Judea (Hebron) – 1,500,000 Gaza Strip (Gaza City) – 2,000,000 Northern Negev (Be’er Sheva) – currently the northern part of the Be’er Sheva sub-district of the Southern District – 500,000 Southern Negev (Eilat) – currently the southern part of the Be’er Sheva sub-district of the Southern District – 200,000 Jerusalem – a federal district by itself, not in any one state – 1,000,000 Resulting picture There would be one country with one capital city (Jerusalem), one national/federal government, one national military, one flag (the current flag with the star encircled by twelve state symbols and a Jerusalem symbol in the middle), national/federal courts, federal taxes and a national school system with a national core curriculum and national educational policy supervision.
Each of the states would have a name, a state capital, a state government with elected officials, state police for matters of local law and order, state courts to handle specifically state-related designated areas of the law, a state flag and a state symbol (which also goes on the national flag) and state taxes.
Jerusalem would have a municipal government, police, municipal-related courts, a flag, a symbol (also for the national flag) and city taxes.
Process to adopt There would be a National Referendum by everyone living in the proposed entities. All twelve proposed states and Jerusalem would vote to “join the union” or not. A state does not join the union until they vote to join the union within a designated period of time.
As described above, for any and all of the thirteen entities that join the union, there would be one national/federal government, military, judicial system and rule of law, in addition to the individual states’ identities, governments, police forces, courts and laws.
The educational system would be supervised on a national/federal level. Curricula, books and materials would all be reviewed to make sure that they reflect the reality of co-existence, acceptance and respect rather than rejection and denial.
After a large number of years (number to be chosen – maybe 10, 15 or 20) following the initial voting to form the union, each state and Jerusalem would vote again whether to remain in the union or leave it. Presumably, states with a Jewish majority will most likely vote to remain.
States with an Arab majority will have the same choice of staying in the union or leaving it, presumably to form their own state(s). As a result of this lengthy period of time, these states would have had the experience of many years of “in-union” political functioning and coexistence with a corresponding educational system.
Knesset elections The Knesset would remain with 120 members.
All the Knesset seats would be equal even though the individual MKs would be elected differently as described below.
Sixty MKs would be elected by a national/ federal party list vote (as now) with the threshold percentage to be determined.
Sixty MKs would be elected locally from the twelve states and Jerusalem to include 26 senators and 34 delegates. The 26 senators would be two individuals from each state and Jerusalem, and they would be elected as individuals, though they may identify publicly with a party. The 34 delegates would be elected locally, either one each from each of 34 zones whose boundaries would be determined by an equal population size or by each state as a group with a number allocated to each state based upon population size. These 34 delegates would also be elected as individuals, though they may identify publicly with a party.
Unless changed for other reasons, the current system of coalition formation of a ruling government would apply from among the 120 MKs once all 60 federal and 60 local election results are final.
Based on the distribution of one delegate for every approximately 400,000 in population, the 34 delegates would be from: Eastern Galilee and the Golan Heights (1), Western and Central Galilee (3), Upper Coast (3), Middle Coast (5), Tel Aviv (3), Lower Coast (1), Central Belt (1), Upper West Bank/Samaria (4), Lower West Bank/Judea (4), Gaza Strip (5), Northern Negev (1), Southern Negev (1) and Jerusalem (2).
The resulting Knesset representation of the full 60 state-related seats (two senators plus the allocated delegates) would be: Eastern Galilee and the Golan Heights (3), Western and Central Galilee (5), Upper Coast (5), Middle Coast (7), Tel Aviv (5), Lower Coast (3), Central Belt (3), Upper West Bank/Samaria (6), Lower West Bank/Judea (6), Gaza Strip (7), Northern Negev (3), Southern Negev (3) and Jerusalem (4).
If any state votes not to be in the union (Gaza being a possible example), then the total number of MKs that would have been assigned to that state would be left out of the pool of the sixty state-related seats, and the population numbers and the distribution of the full sixty state-related seats would be recalculated before the Knesset elections take place.
Palestinian refugees An international monetary fund would be established (perhaps led by the United States, the United Nations or the Quartet) to compensate each Palestinian family who registers and validates their claim within a designated period of time. Each family would receive a certain determined amount of payment to be divided equally among all the descendants/ heirs of that one registered family.
Instead of total direct cash payments, it could be done with a combination of a cash payment and a voucher which can be used toward construction, purchase or rent of a new or existing home in the country in which the Palestinians now live. The amount of money given through this fund would also act as a major boost in the various local economies. Criteria could be developed to allow for a small number of family reunification cases in which some refugees would be able to move back to Israel.
The issue of compensation for Jewish refugees who had to leave Arab countries as a result of the establishment of the State of Israel could also be considered, though it is outside the purview of this essay.
Citizenship and permanent residency Each adult living in all of the twelve states and Jerusalem would be given the opportunity of choosing full Israeli citizenship or choosing permanent residence status. Both citizens and permanent residents would be subject to the same laws, taxes and social benefits.
The difference between these two groups would be that citizens would be entitled to vote in all of the various levels of elections, while permanent residents would be more limited – either not be entitled to vote in any level of election at all or be allowed to vote in local municipal elections but not in state and national Knesset elections.
Rules for military and national service would have to be clarified. One possible arrangement would be that citizens would serve in the military or national service, and permanent residents would not serve in the military or national service (and have limited voting rights as described above).
Conclusion We do not know the future. Many Jewish prayers conclude with a prayer for peace. Shalom (peace) is related to shleymut (wholeness, completeness). We pray that a complete peace can be achieved!!
Robert B. Rubin is a rabbi living in the United States