The following illustration by Igor Kopelnitsky was recently published along with this Letter to Editor in the New York Times in response to “The One-State Solution,” by Muammar Qaddafi (Op-Ed, Jan. 22).
Colonel Qaddafi’s one-state solution is not merely absurd. It includes a clear hidden agenda, which shows once again how the self-proclaimed leader of Libya really views Israel.
There are reasons a one-state solution will never and should never happen. With an immediate Arab majority over the Jews, it would be instant politicide for the Israeli government. Israel will never allow this, nor should it. As even Colonel Qaddafi notes, the Jewish people deserve their homeland.
And if the area became united under one combined country — even if there were some constitutional guarantee of balanced power between Arabs and Jews, it would be an utter disaster. If you disagree, ask the residents of the former Yugoslavia for their opinion. Or take a look at Lebanon. No such country would be a homeland for the Jews.
The two-state solution has strong prospects for success. Let’s give it a try rather than clandestinely ramble on about what people like Colonel Qaddafi have wanted to do since 1948 — eliminate the Jewish state of Israel.
Hillel Buechler
Waltham, Mass., Jan. 22, 2009
