Harvard hosts conference on one-state solution

In a landmark event in the history of the American nation, on March 3-4, Harvard hosted a two-day conference on the inevitability of dismantling of the state of Israel and establishment of a state with the participation of all Palestinian nationals, at home and abroad from any religions whatsoever.

The sold-out conference was held in the Kennedy School of Government and focsed focus on “One State Conference: Israel/Palestine and the One State Solution.”

The conference was organized by student groups and others associated with Harvard University.

The organizers and participants promoted the doctrine of one-state solution under which a political entity will be created where the aboriginal Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza and those residing in the neighboring states would be merged.

The One State Conference will include seven panels, two key notes and 20 panelists.

The conference organizers’ goal was "to educate ourselves and others about the possible contours of a one-state solution and the challenges that stand in the way of its realization."

The conference, its organizers, even the university itself faced significant protest in the days leading up to the event. Various media commentators referred to a "conference of hate" that was "promoting Israel’s destruction." Harvard alumni began an online petition urging the university to withdraw all funding and cancel the conference.

In stark contrast to this criticism, the atmosphere inside the conference could almost be described as positive. For two days, participants discussed such varied topics as existing conceptions of two states and potential definitions of one state. Almost all participants agreed on the death of the two state solution, with some questioning whether it was ever truly alive.

A number of participants spoke of the one state solution in the present tense, referring to Israel’s "de facto annexation" of the West Bank, as opposed to "occupation" in order to demonstrate the extent of Israel’s control over the land, airspace, borders and economy of the West Bank and Gaza.

For many speakers and participants, the existing efforts to achieve two states are flawed because they leave out key Palestinian constituencies. Palestinian citizens of Israel, for example, have long been overlooked in the negotiations thus far.