Former US ambassador to Israel dismisses 2-state solution: 'God gave this land to the Jewish people'
WASHINGTON — The former U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Trump administration asserted Monday that there is no pathway to statehood for Palestinians who supported Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, declaring that the only plan for the Jewish state is the one God had for it thousands of years ago.
The coalition Keep God’s Land invited Christian and Jewish leaders to Capitol Hill Monday night to discuss Israel's sovereignty in the wake of Iran’s recent attack and the ongoing war in Gaza with the terrorist group Hamas.
Over the weekend, Iran launched around 300 missiles and drones toward Israel, an action that has heightened concerns about an already tense situation.
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David Friedman, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Israel from 2017 to 2021, spoke during the event held at the headquarters of the conservative public policy think tank The Heritage Foundation.
He asserted that “the fight for the Jewish state, the fight for the Jewish people, is not over yet.”
Despite the ongoing war in Gaza and Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack on civilians in southern Israel, the former ambassador said he is “full of hope.”
He said the Jewish people are continuing to return to Israel, and many Christian groups are continuing to tour the Holy Land. The former ambassador praised supporters of Israel who have “risen to the occasion” by standing with the Jewish State through various philanthropic acts.
“We’re seeing the convergence, maybe for the first time in our lifetimes, we’re seeing the convergence of faith and policy,” Friedman said. “God’s vision for the Jewish people, God’s vision for the state of Israel, God’s vision for all of us as supporters. It’s actually the right policy as well.”
Friedman, 65, discussed the two-state solution, a proposal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by providing the Palestinians with a state alongside Israel. The Biden administration has suggested the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state, a solution that Friedman does not find realistic.
He cited data that suggests a large number of Palestinians support Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, primarily civilians.
One such poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research between Nov. 22 and Dec. 2, 2023 found that 72% of respondents said Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against Israel was the correct decision. The researchers interviewed 1,231 adults in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The survey's margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
“There is no pathway to statehood for people who feel that way,” Friedman said. “God gave this land to the Jewish people, and the Jewish people can’t give it away."
Friedman said the idea of a two-state solution does not work politically and does not align with God’s vision for the region. He asserted that the only solution is the plan that God established for Israel thousands of years ago.
“And by the way, not only will the Jewish people prosper in the land of Israel, but those who are willing to live in this land who are non-Jewish people, who are Christian people, who are Muslim people, who are Palestinian — if they accept God's sovereignty over this land, they will prosper as well,” Friedman said.
Friedman's appearance on Monday comes nearly two months after he presented a Middle East peace plan titled "The Future of Judea & Samaria" at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in February. The plan calls for full Israeli sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
The proposal was drafted by the Friedman Center for Peace Through Strength and would, in theory, be spearheaded by the U.S., Israel and states that have Abraham Accords agreements to normalize relations with Israel.
According to the Jewish News Syndicate, the proposal would recognize Israel's biblical claims to Judea and Samaria, its abilities to police the territory and its development of infrastructure to improve living standards for all residents.
Meanwhile, Palestinians would have “maximum civil autonomy” in areas built up and largely funded by Gulf states, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“Give up all the fantasies,” Friedman was quoted as saying at the NRB convention. “There can’t be a two-state solution.”
“A Palestinian state is an existential threat to the State of Israel," he continued. "A two-state solution is a dead letter; Israel has no margin of error, and the Palestinian leadership has proven unreliable as a peace partner.”
Another speaker at Monday's event, Ohad Tal, a member of the Israeli Knesset, argued that Iran decided to attack Israel because it felt that the Jewish state was “weak” for two reasons.
The first reason is Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, which Tal noted made Israel appear “vulnerable,” something that the Knesset member warned is an “existential danger” in the Middle East.
“The second reason that they felt we are weak and that they dared to attack us directly is that they've seen what is happening to the relations between Israel and the U.S. in the last couple of weeks and months, maybe even more than that,” Tal said.
“They probably asked themselves, to be honest, we started to ask ourselves as well, what is going on here?” he continued. “Is America blessing Israel or, God forbid, the opposite? Is America cursing Israel?”
The Israeli Knesset member questioned several of the Biden administration’s recent actions regarding Israel, including the decision not to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire. Tal criticized President Joe Biden’s remarks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Iran’s attack.
As CNN reported this week, Biden reportedly told Netanyahu during a phone call Saturday that he should consider it a win that Israel intercepted Iran's attack. U.S. officials familiar with the matter also told the outlet that Biden and his national security team have said the U.S. will not take offensive action against Iran.
“Friends, this is not just our war,” Tal said. “We are fighting against a murderous ideology that seeks to harm the entire free world. Iran’s ambition is to become a global superpower and destabilize the entire world.”
The Knesset member called on attendees not to keep quiet in the war “between good and evil,” and to “stand with Israel.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
