(both of whom were later elected to the Knesset) in order to plan a common path. I could not have imagined that 60 years later this effort would still not be over.
Nowadays, the idea appears here and there of turning the omelet back into the egg, of dismantling the State of Israel and the State-ofPalestine-to-be, and establishing a single state, as we sang at that time, "from the sea to the desert."
This is presented as a fresh new idea, but it is actually an attempt to turn the wheel back and to bring back to life an idea that is irrevocably obsolete. In human history, that just does not happen. What has been forged in blood and fire in wars and intifadas-the State of Israel and the Palestinian national movement-will not just disappear. After a war, states can achieve peace and partnership, like Germany and France, but they do not merge into one state.
I am not a nostalgic type. I look back at the ideas of my younger days, and try to analyze what has been superseded and what is left.
The ideas of the "ba-Ma'avak group" were indeed revolutionary and bold-but could they have been put into practice? Looking back, it is clear to me that the "joint state" idea was already unrealistic when we brought it up. Perhaps it would have been possible one or two generations earlier. But by the middle of the 1940s, the situation of the two peoples had changed decisively. There was no escaping from the partition of the country.
I believe that we were right in our historical approach: that we must identify with the region we are living in, cooperate with the Arab national movement, and enter into a partnership with the Palestinian nation. As long as we see ourselves as a part of Europe and/or the United States, we are not able to achieve peace. And certainly not if we consider ourselves soldiers in a crusade against the Islamic civilization and the Arab peoples.
As we said then, before the partition resolution: the Palestinian people exists. Even after 60 years, in which they have suffered catastrophes which few other peoples have ever experienced, the Palestinian people cling to their country with unparalleled fortitude. True, the dream of living together in one state is dead, and will not come to life again. But I have no doubt that after the Palestinian state comes into being, the two states will find ways to live together in close partnership. The walls will be thrown down, the fences will be dismantled, the border will be opened, and the reality of the common country will overcome all obstacles. The flags of the country-the two flags of the two states-will indeed wave side by side.
The UN resolution of November 29, 1947, was one of the most