Aluf Benn on Two States: Recognition, Rubble, and the Narrow Path Forward
JUDJ-Prepared Summary from September 11, 2025 | Israel in Crisis: Can the Two State Solution Be Resurrected? The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the speaker.
In a recent America at a Crossroads discussion, Aluf Benn—editor-in-chief of Haaretz and a leading analyst of Israeli politics and society—examined whether a two-state future remains viable amid a grinding war, intensifying settlement expansion, and deepening mistrust. The conversation explored how high-profile diplomatic gestures intersect with on-the-ground realities, what Israeli public opinion reveals about the political moment, and what practical steps—if any—might still move Israelis and Palestinians toward coexistence.
Recognition Without Relief
Benn argues that recent moves by Western leaders to recognize a Palestinian state function as “life support” for a fading two-state idea—but not as a brake on the conflict itself. Symbolic acts can embarrass Israel’s government and signal international impatience, yet they do not halt military operations, stop settlement growth, or change the coalition calculus in Jerusalem. For Benn, these gestures matter in narrative terms but fail to alter incentives that keep the war going.
Facts on the Ground, Not in Communiqués
Even as capitals issue statements, Benn notes that realities in the West Bank and Gaza point in the opposite direction. Proposals to annex large swaths of the West Bank and encircle Palestinian population centers would entrench fragmentation. In Gaza, the scale of destruction—“tens of millions of tons of rubble,” as Benn describes—demands an immense reconstruction plan. But no credible governance handoff exists: Israel rejects a return of the Palestinian Authority, and talk of a regional custodial framework (Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia) remains hypothetical. Without a defined end state, demolition advances faster than any envisioned rebuilding.
Public Opinion and the Moral Weather
Benn’s reading of Israeli opinion is stark. He cites polling that shows substantial support among Israeli Jews for policies aimed at pushing Gazans to leave, a sentiment that crosses beyond Netanyahu’s core base. Inside Israel, mainstream media provide little direct reporting from Gaza, blunting empathy for Palestinian suffering and narrowing the public’s moral frame. Abroad—especially among younger American Jews—support for Israel’s wartime conduct has eroded, widening a diaspora-Israel gap that complicates future political coalitions and philanthropic backing.
Is Two States Still Possible?
Yes—barely, and only with hard choices on all sides. Benn continues to see partition as the “least-worst” path to a durable modus vivendi: it doesn’t require either national movement to abandon its founding story, but it does require each to accept limits. He points to ongoing security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank—even amid fierce diplomacy—as evidence that coexistence mechanisms can function when interests align. What’s missing is a decisive shift inside Israel (and credible guarantees for Israelis) that would make territorial compromise politically survivable.
A Narrow, Practical Sequence
Benn sketches a pragmatic path, thin as it is: first, a genuine ceasefire coupled with a hostage-prisoner resolution; next, a firm freeze on settlement growth and clear red lines against annexation; in parallel, governance reform on the Palestinian side to restore legitimacy and capacity; and finally, a serious reconstruction compact with regional buy-in that ties funding to security and political benchmarks. None of these steps is easy; together they are the minimum necessary to reconnect diplomatic “recognition” with realities on the ground.
What to Watch
- Concrete, funded plans for Gaza reconstruction with an agreed administrator.
- Settlement policy moves or annexation bills that foreclose borders.
- Regional normalization offers explicitly conditioned on Palestinian statehood milestones.
Benn doesn’t sugarcoat the moment, but he refuses fatalism. Two states, he suggests, is still the only framework that trades maximalist dreams for livable peace. For that future to emerge, symbolism must finally meet soil.
About America at a Crossroads
Since April 2020, America at a Crossroads has produced weekly virtual programs on topics related to the preservation of our democracy, voting rights, freedom of the press, and a wide array of civil rights, including abortion rights, free speech, and free press. America at a Crossroads is a project of Jews United for Democracy & Justice.