Israelis, Palestinians in 1-state vision

AS A PALESTINIAN who supports a single, democratic state in which all Israelis and Palestinians enjoy equal rights and protections, I assume I must be one of those whom Rafi Dajani and Ori Nir disparage as supporting a "two-headed monster" that is "unrealistic" and "undesirable" ("A two-state solution could work," Op-ed, May 30). After years of unmitigated failure, it is time to look for real alternatives to the two-state solution. Who could have imagined in 1984 that in 1994 a National Unity Government of Nelson Mandela's African National Congress and F.W. de Klerk's National Party could transform South Africa? When I was in Ireland a few months ago, few people believed they would actually witness what has just taken place -- a power-sharing administration between Sinn Fein and Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party.

Be suspicious of those who argue for peace while maintaining that Israelis and Palestinians hate each other too much to live together. In South Africa and Northern Ireland, only the end of injustice and ethnic domination by one group could open the way for real reconciliation. Why can't the same be true for Israelis and Palestinians?

ALI ABUNIMAH
Chicago

The writer is the author of "One Country."