Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman discussed his new movement, ‘One Jewish State’ which offers a compelling response to the viability of the two-state solution post-October 7th at the Jerusalem Post Conference yesterday in NYC. Friedman argues for a single-state solution, emphasizing Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
Friedman recounted the inspiration for his idea, stemming from his intense four-year tenure as President Trump’s ambassador to Israel and an unresolved issue from a 2020 Oval Office meeting. At the time, the Trump administration was pushing for a peace proposal that faced significant opposition. President Trump raised a critical question about the future of areas A and B, pondering if they would become another Gaza if Israel only annexed area C. The president asked me, “Is that going to turn into another Gaza? Because if all you do is take area C, what have you really done? Have you really solved the problem?”
Trump’s query motivated Friedman to think outside the box and develop a comprehensive alternative plan that goes beyond the conventional wisdom of a two-state solution.
‘One Jewish State’ aims to be inclusive, appealing to people across the political and religious spectrum. “I think you can support this plan, whether you’re on the left or the right, whether you’re religious or secular, whether you believe that Judean Samaria is just dirt and rocks or whether you believe it’s the biblical land of the Jewish people,” Friedman explained.
“If you want a good outcome for Israel’s security, if you want a good outcome for the Palestinian people, for their human dignity, health and welfare, or if you want to fulfill God’s will, however you see it, this solves all those issues.”
‘One Jewish State’ involves full Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, coupled with a significant expansion of the Abraham Accords to secure necessary funding for infrastructure development. He proposed a model akin to Puerto Rico for Palestinian Arab communities, granting them local autonomy without national voting rights, thereby improving their quality of life.
“There are three alternatives,” Friedman said to the Jerusalem Post. “You can negotiate peace, you can take it, or you can leave it. Those are the three choices. Negotiating peace has been around for 50 years. It’s gone nowhere.”
Similarly, “leaving it” is a bad option. “Whenever Israel leaves territory, it leaves a vacuum behind that’s filled by terrorists. That kind of template for a Palestinian state was called Gaza. Not a single Jew living there, not a single soldier there. Billions of dollars invested there, and Western facing Mediterranean beachfront property, became a terrorist state.”
The only alternative is for Israel to “take it”, which according to Friedman, is “the convergence of geopolitics, economics, security, and faith. Normally, faith is all the way over there on the side. Faith is for the crazy people who just want to do God’s will. They don’t care what happens. But, right now, if you just think about God’s will, it’s exactly the right outcome. You can be an atheist now and still see that God’s view of Judea and Samaria is the right view.”
Addressing the upcoming US presidential elections, Friedman advised American Jews to consider candidates’ stances on combating anti-Semitism.
“If you’re an American Jew concerned about anti-Semitism in this country, I think you want two things,” explained Friedman.
“You want America to defund the universities that are poisoning our children. The second thing you want is for the people who attack Jews to go to jail. We want law enforcement.
“I’ll leave it with everybody here who they think is a more likely candidate who will be defunding the universities and refunding the police, whether it’s Trump or Biden. I’ll leave it to you to decide that.”
The importance of Israeli Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria has gained momentum since the Hamas attack on October 7th.
In recent weeks, President Trump himself has reversed his support for a two state solution as reported by Israel365 News. “I’m not sure a two-state solution anymore is gonna work,” Trump told TIME Magazine, “There was a time when I thought two states could work. Now I think two states are going to be very, very tough.”
Friedman had previously discussed ‘One Jewish State’ at the Jerusalem Conference sponsored by Arutz Sheva the previous day in Manhattan. Friedman first outlined his vision for ‘One Jewish State’ at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) in February at a ‘Keep God’s Land’ event organized by Israel365 and a coalition of over 150 faith-based organizations.
