Ambassador David Friedman’s new book, “One Jewish State: The Last, Best Hope to Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” will be released this week.  Order here on Amazon. The book has already been attacked by left-wing Israeli media and will surely spark controversy. However, nearly one year into Israel’s bitter war against Hamas, observers of the Middle East should put aside their preconceived notions and be open to considering Ambassador Friedman’s bold vision for peace. Israel365 News received an advance copy, and here are ten excerpts from some of the most important themes of “One Jewish State.”

Click on the image to order from Amazon

1. Two-State Solution

“Can there be a Two State Solution? The answer to the question is “NO!” And I know this because we tried. In the Trump administration, we spent years crafting a Vision for Peace that we hoped might be acceptable to Israelis and Palestinians alike.” (page 105)

“Supporters of Israel on the center and the right, and virtually everyone in the Republican Party, now see the two-state solution not as a fair outcome but as a “final solution” for the Jewish state.” (page 28)

“Under no circumstances do the Palestinians merit, nor could they justify, a second Palestinian state in addition to Jordan.” (page 61)

“Resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is considered the most complex diplomatic challenge in the world. It shouldn’t be. The truth is that it’s only difficult because we make it difficult.” ( page 209)

2. Sovereignty over Judea & Samaria

“Implementing Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria will require a partnership between Israel and the United States, its most important ally. On the U.S. side, I have no difficulty in saying that the U.S. leadership must be Republican; at least for the foreseeable future, the Democratic Party remains wedded to the two-state solution. In Israel, I will not wade into the complex party politics that produces Israel’s leadership. But I will say that the biblical lessons on leadership—the critical need that Israel’s leaders be accountable, humble, and people of faith—remain as true and essential today as in biblical times. Adherence to these principles is necessary for Israeli sovereignty over its biblical homeland.” (page 188)

“With the convergence of faith and politics in the United States, this is a singular period in which God’s will can be done. Israel, as the one Jewish state with sovereignty over all its God-given territory, can usher in a period of blessings for the United States and the entire world.” (page 159)

3. President Trump

“I was present in the room when President Trump listened to his foreign policy team and made decisions regarding Israel—in his case the most favorable decisions for Israel of any president in history.” (page 20)

“Trump was looking for a win-win, not a win-lose or a lose-lose. And since that meeting in the Oval Office on June 23, 2020, I have thought about achieving it. That’s the unfinished business that this book hopes to begin finishing.” (page 18)

“On April 30, 2024, President Trump, in an interview with Time, said the following: “Most people thought it was going to be a two-state solution. I’m not sure a two-state solution anymore is gonna work.” After President Trump made those comments, I authored a letter of thanks on behalf of the “Keep God’s Land” coalition—a group of faith leaders who encourage Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. Within two days, more than four hundred faith leaders cosigned the letter. President Trump was absolutely right, and he should know. We spent thousands of hours from 2017 to 2021 listening to competing points of view on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” (page 111)

“President Trump has often said he was indifferent to one or two states—whatever the parties might agree to. His goals always were practical and targeted toward tangible improvements in the quality of life. I believe that if Israel supports this plan, he will as well. “(page 180)

“After October  7, President Trump recognized that a two-state solution would not happen. This book outlines what should happen—the last, best chance to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A resolution that adopts practical solutions for improving the facts on the ground while adhering to the highest standards of Judeo-Christian values.”(page 215)

Click on the image to order from Amazon

4. The Puerto Rico Analogy

“Puerto Rico has saved us all the heavy lifting in crafting a Jewish state with sovereignty over Palestinian communities in Judea and Samaria. We can skip all the methods that failed or were branded colonial or racist. Let’s just go straight to the principles endorsed by eight out of nine Supreme Court justices of the United States. First, absolute Israeli sovereignty over all Judea and Samaria. Second, Palestinians within Judea and Samaria should have all the civil and human rights called for by Israel’s Basic Law on Human Dignity without the collective right to self-determination as provided in the Nation-State Law. In other words, Palestinians, like Puerto Ricans, will not vote in national elections. Third, Palestinians will be free to enact their own governing documents as long as they are not inconsistent with those of Israel. Fourth, Palestinians will not pay Israeli income taxes but will be taxed to support their local needs.” (page 89)

5. The Day After in Gaza

“This is not the time to discuss Israeli sovereignty over Gaza. But that time will come, whether because it makes sense, there is no other choice, or because it is God’s will (or all three). Gaza is, after all, part of Biblical Israel. In the book of Joshua chapter 15, the cities granted to the tribe of Judah are enumerated. Verse 47 includes Ashdod and Gaza. The long-term path for Gaza must be the same as for Judea and Samaria. This is God’s land given to the Jewish people. Since Israel evacuated all its twenty-one settlements from Gaza in 2005, the land has been lying fallow, it has been polluted with terror tunnels and vile and despicable conduct, and it has been a source of murder and other heinous crimes. Israel has no other choice but to reclaim its biblical territory and return one day to the Gaza Strip in a manner that brings peace, not further misery.” (page 167)

6. Abraham Accords

“The Abraham Accords could be the secret sauce that solidifies the plan for Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. The Arab partners within the Abraham Accords know painfully well the failings of Palestinian leadership.” (page 205)

“There is a huge opportunity for expanding the Abraham Accords around the concept of One Jewish State. The argument to the moderate Sunni countries is twofold: (1) the best outcome for Palestinians in Judea and Samaria is for Israel to assume responsibility for their welfare, prosperity, and dignity—no other governing body can achieve a comparable outcome—and (2) sovereignty by Israel over Judea and Samaria is consistent with God’s covenant with Abraham (Ibrahim in the Koran) and the prophecy of Moses (Musa in the Koran). Moses and Abraham are among Islam’s five most prominent prophets, along with Jesus, Noah, and Muhammad.” (page 206)

7. A Judea and Samaria Trust

“Judea and Samaria need better roads. It needs a good local hospital or two. It needs, in many locations, better technology to efficiently enable those who do not threaten Israel to cross the Green Line to work and visit family. It needs infrastructure improvements to bring the area into parity with Israel proper. And it needs these things to create tangible improvements that will convince the average nonviolent Palestinian that a better life will exist under Israeli sovereignty. For that, a “Judea and Samaria Trust” needs to be designated for these purposes.” (page 177)

“Tens of billions have been poured into Palestinian society over the last fifty years with little or nothing to show for it. A professionally managed trust will direct funding where it can achieve fundamental change.” (page 178).

Amb. David Friedman (Photo courtesy)

8. Settler Violence

“Violence by Jews just doesn’t happen that often. It is the “man bites dog” story. Nonetheless, that is exactly the story that the left-wing media amplifies, such that it now has become the main narrative within the region. It sells newspapers and it plays into the antisemitic wave that is plaguing Jews across the globe.” (page 138)

9. The Bible

“The Palestinians accuse Israel of engaging in some sort of religious conspiracy to suppress their human rights. They could not be more wrong. The architecture of biblical settlement within the land of Israel is replete with warnings that minorities living in peace with their neighbors must be protected. The Bible also mandates that those refusing to live in peace with Israel must be defeated—that’s not a religious conspiracy; it’s the only modality for Jewish survival!” (page 126)

“Now, in a world where Israel is vilified for its refusal to commit national suicide, it is the Bible that provides the road map for Israel to continue to prevail and to thrive. ” (page 219)

10. The Movement

“I call this book One Jewish State for the movement that I have begun to lead—a movement to create a safe, secure, and prosperous State of Israel within its biblical homeland in a manner that brings security, human dignity, prosperity, and pride to each and every one of its inhabitants.”(page 1)

“God is not on the right or the left… God is neither a Democrat nor a Republican and it is because of his laws and commandments that our founders were able to create the American republic. It thus is a mistake to label the movement for Israeli sovereignty as right-wing, left-wing, or otherwise. Indeed, it is not a political movement at all. Rather, it is a movement that hearkens back to basic Judeo-Christian values of kindness, human dignity, humility, and prosperity.” (page 193)

Click on the image to order from Amazon