Benny Morris: One State, Two States. Yale University Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-300-12281-7
Can the Palestinians and Israelis live together? This is the fundamental question at the heart of Morris' book. The answer, according to Morris, is no. The alternatives, for the Jews and the Palestinians to live under one roof in one state or in two separate national states, are, he argues, unworkable and ultimately detrimental to Israel.
Morris starts his book with a brief survey of the growing literature on the binational state proposition. This idea has been explored and promoted by authors such as Tony Judt and Virginia Tilley in response to the ethnic and religious mix of today's Israel, and the pertinent question of economic viability for the future Palestinian state that is expected to emerge on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Proponents of a 'secular and democratic binational state' have taken issue with the Zionist vision of Israel as a Jewish state for obvious reasons. What about the rights of the Arabs who live there?
Morris acknowledges that taking the Zionist dream to its logical conclusion would entail removing the Arab population from Israel. This was indeed advocated by early Zionist leaders. David Ben-Gurion, who later became Israel's first Prime Minister, is quoted by Morris: 'With compulsory transfer we [would] have a vast area [for settlement] .... I support compulsory transfer. I don't see anything immoral in it.'
Although this idea has become less and less acceptable in Israel, it is still seen as the way forward by a small minority represented by the Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party.
The recent proposal to introduce a loyalty bill is aimed at Israel's 1.5 million Arabs who regard the 1948 creation of Israel as a day of catastrophe, not of jubilation. Two national narratives are colliding here and the Zionist camp is hoping to use the state machinery to suppress the contending view.
Morris is renowned as a historian of integrity and impartiality. His scholarship on the birth of Israel and its impact on the Arab population was a direct challenge to the established view in Israel.
In his seminal work The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem and subsequent publications, Morris documented a counter narrative which gave voice to the dispossessed Palestinians. Morris saw the rise of Palestinian nationalism as directly linked to the assertiveness of Zionists in Palestine.
These were courageous points