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August 10, 2025
Key Developments and What We're Discussing Today:
- Today, August 10, marks 674 days since October 7, 2023. The Hamas-led attack on Simchat Torah resulted in 1,182 fatalities (including 44 Americans) and over 4,000 wounded. 251 hostages (210 alive, 41 dead bodies) were taken during a day of brutal savagery and sexual violence. It was the largest single massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, with more than one in every 10,000 Israelis killed, and the third overall deadliest terrorist attack in the world to date.
- The 50 remaining hostages, 27 known to be dead, 20 thought to be alive, and three of unknown status, include the bodies of two Americans: Omer Neutra and Itay Chen. It is beyond outrageous that after all this time, they are still enduring torture and starvation in tunnels with no outside contact. It is beyond outrageous that no hostages have been released since June. Releasing the hostages is clearly not a priority for Trump and Netanyahu, but it's a top priority for us.
- A two-state solution is the only way to achieve the Zionist dream of a Jewish, democratic state.
- Two states means a state of Israel alongside a state of Palestine. I spoke with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) about the letter he is circulating urging U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state and why now is the time to do it.
- Politics with Dana and Steve is co-hosting an event on September 18 in Chicago with Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, the leading (and my favorite) candidate in the Illinois 9th congressional district Democratic primary. See below for details.
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Greetings!
On Tuesday, I spoke with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) about the letter he is circulating asking President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio to officially recognize a Palestinian state (more on that in a moment).
At the conclusion of our conversation, I switched topics and asked him about concerns that Democrats will not be able to win the midterms, let alone the presidency, because Trump, backed by the courts and Republicans enmeshed in the election boards of enough states, will be able to prevent free and fair elections.
Khanna pointed to previous times in American history when Americans rose to the occasion. He said that our decentralized election system makes rigging elections harder. He noted that whereas other autocrats, including Mussolini and Hitler, enjoyed widespread popular support, Trump's approval rating is remarkably low. Finally, he felt that in the unlikely event that Republican chicanery deprived Democrats of victory in the midterms, the resulting outrage would almost guarantee Democrats victory in 2028.
I hung up feeling more hopeful than I've been in a long time. As I thought more about it, though, I still did not see exactly how we would overcome certain specific obstacles.
I think we need to look at this the way we might look at getting lost in the forest. We don't know exactly how we are going to get out. We don't know how hard it will be. But we don't sit down and cry (well, maybe we do for a little bit). We start planning. We start walking. We deal with obstacles as they arise. We know we will get out of the woods even if we don't know how we'll do it. And as long as we don't give up, we make it.
We cannot give up hope for Israel either. Israel needs a two-state solution. The only alternative is one state from the river to the sea, which can take three forms: 1) The Islamic state favored by Hamas, 2)a democratic state that will not be Jewish (how can it be if only half or less than half is Jewish), or 3) a Jewish state that is not democratic (achieved by annexing the West Bank and Gaza but not allowing Palestinian residents to vote in Knesset elections).
Two states for two peoples is the only answer. It's not possible today, but today we can start taking steps to make it more likely.
A common but misplaced argument against pursuing a two-state solution is that the Palestinians are at fault and they blew previous opportunities, so the ball is in their court, not Israel’s, to pave the way for a two-state solution.
It doesn't matter how we got to where we are or whose fault it is. The ball is in Israel's court because Israel needs a two-state solution for its own sake and Israel controls the entire territory. The population of Jews and Arabs between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River is roughly equal. Israel can only be Jewish and democratic if the vast majority of its citizens are Jewish.
Palestinians who live in the West Bank do not have the same legal rights as Jews who live in the West Bank or as Jews and Palestinians who live in pre-1967 Israel. That’s understandable in the context of a temporary military occupation caused by Jordan’s attack on Israel.
But Israel cannot remain Jewish and democratic and in permanent control of the West Bank indefinitely; it can only have any two of the three, which means that the only way to realize the classic Zionist dream of a democratic Jewish state is a two-state solution.
Zionists in America and Israel must remember, as former Prime Minister Ehud Barak has written, that the ultimate aim of Zionism and Zionists was "not to secure every inch of the Land of Israel: it was to redeem, reinvigorate, and rededicate themselves to the People of Israel."
Acknowledging the necessity of a two-state solution does not mean that we are excusing Palestinian violence, intransigence, or incitement. It’s not either/or. Neither does acknowledgment that both Israel and the Palestinians must take steps toward peace imply moral equivalence. What it does mean is that the harder a two-state solution becomes, the worse it is for Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Americans will support an Israel striving for a two-state solution. They are less likely to support an Israel responsible for starvation in Gaza and condoning settler violence in the West Bank against Palestinians.
But doesn’t October 7 and the thousands of rockets Hamas fired into Israel from Gaza before October 7 prove that a two-state solution will not work? No. It proves that peace agreements must be bilateral. Israel withdrew from Gaza unilaterally without any peace agreement.
Peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan were bilateral. They have not ushered in an era of love and friendship, but they have worked because they addressed Israel's security concerns.
As Barak wrote, the point of the Zionist project was for Jews to take their future into their own hands; to say that the IDF cannot manage a small state on its borders shows an astonishing misunderstanding of the IDF’s capabilities.
Neither side has to give up its narrative or accept the other side's narrative, but both sides must realize that the only path forward, a two-state solution, requires both sides to give up sovereignty over land that they believe should be theirs and both sides to accept that previous sins of the other side may never be fully redressed.
Palestinians must realize that violence will not gain them their dignity. Contrary to what some Palestinians believe, Israeli Jews do not see themselves as colonialists from somewhere else but as a people returning to their homeland. They will not leave and will fight for their state.
Contrary to what some Israelis believe, Palestinians are a people, they have a history, and they too consider this their homeland. Their will cannot be crushed and they will fight for a state.
That's why Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is circulating a letter urging recognition of a Palestinian state. A two-state solution means that one of those two states will be Palestine. Republicans dropped support for a two-state solution from their platform in 2016, breaking with decades of bipartisan consensus.
Republicans nixed language supporting a two-state solution in the Israel 75th birthday resolution the House passed in April 2023. The GOP's 2024 platform made no mention of a two-state solution. Last week, GOP Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) visited a West Bank settlement and declared his support for Israeli annexation of the West Bank. That's not pro-Israel. That's pro-Likud.
Netanyahu's government abandoned any pretense of supporting a two-state solution. In July, the Knesset overwhelmingly passed a resolution rejecting a two-state solution.
If the GOP and Israel's current government have their way, Israel will become an international pariah and support for Israel in the U.S. will evaporate, thus ending the decades-long strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.
However, in July, the Arab League issued a declaration condemning for the first time Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, calling for a two-state solution, and calling on Hamas to release all the hostages it is holding, disarm, and end its rule of Gaza.
If we care about Israel's future as a Jewish, democratic state, now is the time for us to speak up. Members of Congress can do that by signing Rep.Khanna's letter.
Khanna told me on Tuesday that he is "fundamentally committed to a secure Israel as a Jewish, democratic state."
He said that "if Zionism is at its core about a Jewish state," then now is precisely the time to build on the opportunity created by the Arab League declaration and recognize a Palestinian state to show that we are serious about a two-state solution and provide hope that it is still possible.
Khanna was clear that "a Palestinian state must recognize Israel as a Jewish homeland" and that since Hamas is a terrorist organization, there would be "no place for Hamas" in the governance of a Palestinian state.
Khanna believes that the combination of support from the Arab League (which, as he pointed out, was lacking during the Clinton-era when attempts at reaching a two-state solution failed) and the need to provide Palestinians with hope that they can achieve their national aspirations makes now the time for the U.S. to join the international community in recognizing a Palestinian state, which is essential to "securing Israel as a Jewish, democratic state."
Khanna said that recognition of a Palestinian state should not be seen as "punitive against Israel; the goal is aspirational." The idea, he said, "is to set a marker for what comes after the war" in Gaza ends. That is why now is the time to lay down that marker.
Some say that now is not the time because recognition of a Palestinian state before Hamas is defeated and while hostages remain in Gaza could be seen as a victory for Hamas or a reward for terrorism. The opposite is true.
Khanna said, "If Hamas’s goal is the destruction of Israel, why would they claim recognizing a Palestinian state alongside Israel as a victory? That’s not a reason not to do the long-overdue right thing. Palestinians understand that Hamas triggered a historic catastrophe with the October 7 attacks. If we want to further discredit Hamas’s violent approach, the way to do it is to show that non-violent diplomacy (such as seeking bilateral and multilateral recognition) delivers better and more real, material improvements for Palestinians."
Khanna added, "Recognizing a Palestinian state does not 'reward' Hamas. On the contrary, it is meant to offer hope to desperate Palestinians who are being threatened with erasure. Given the Israeli (and the U.S. president’s) threats of ethnic cleansing, recognition is essential to preserve international support for a two-state solution and offer some horizon of hope. Mouthing words of support for two states without supporting recognition is widely seen by most people around the world - including young people in the U.S. - as disingenuous."
As Ami Ayalon, former Director of Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, wrote on August 5, "Only a regional agreement with strong international backing that ultimately yields a viable two-state solution can preserve Israel’s security and Jewish-democratic identity, end the cycle of violence, and transform the Middle East from a battlefield into a zone of cooperation."
Nadav Tamir writes, "International recognition is the cornerstone for realizing the right to self-determination for Palestinians, which will save Israel from the destiny of a bloody binational catastrophe or an apartheid state – in both cases, the end of Zionism."
Still not convinced? Watch Yehuda Cohen, whose son, Nimrod Cohen, is still held captive in Gaza, explaining why he supports the recognition of a Palestinian state and how the current escalation of the war might murder his son.
Upcoming Event. Alan & Andrea Solow, Jon Carson, Politics with Dana & Steve, and Mark & Margie Zivin are hosting Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, the leading candidate in the 9th Illinois congressional district Democratic primary (Rep. Jan Schakowsky is retiring), on Thursday, September 18, from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm CT, in person in Chicago. RSVP and contribute here.
Corrections. I'm entitled to my own opinions but not to my own facts, so I appreciate it when readers bring errors to my attention. No one pointed out any errors in last week's newsletter.
In Case You Missed It:
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Max Boot and Rabbi John Rosove articulate our struggle to reconcile the Israel we love with the country whose extreme right-wing government is inflicting so much suffering in Gaza.
- In a rare joint appeal, former Mossad, Shin Bet, and IDF heads called for an immediate end to the Gaza war, warning it now serves 'messianic and extremist goals' and is leading to 'the loss of Israel's security and its freedom.'
- Emily Tamkin explains that Brown’s agreement with the Trump administration promoting the idea that DEI is bad for Jews and simultaneously that only Jews are entitled to DEI is totally counter to promoting understanding of Jewishness and fighting antisemitism.
- Ron Kampeas reports that a U.S.-based Jewish educational nonprofit, Tikvah, helped fund the publication in Israel of Benjamin Netanyahu’s hagiographic autobiography “Bibi – My Story,” which was rushed to print just weeks before the 2022 election returned Netanyahu to the prime ministership.
Social Posts of the Week. Mikel Jollett, Nimrod Novik, and Alana Zeitchik.
Video Clip of the Week. Competitive Foursome.
Vintage Music Clip of the Week. I dare you not to feel good, or at least better, after watching this: I Remember the Feeling.
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I periodically update my posts on the IHRA definition of antisemitism and on why Democrats are better than Republicans on Israel and antisemitism. My definition of "pro-Israel" is here (it's a work in progress, as am I).
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