The “One Democratic State” solution is a political vision that identifies Zionism’s settler-colonial endeavor as the root cause of suffering and violence in Palestine, and its politicization of identity as a danger to the cohesion and health of societies already plagued with sectarianism beyond the borders of Palestine. Accordingly, it proposes the transition to One Democratic State as the only possible solution.
Such an inclusive Palestinian state would be:
Democratic: All citizens would be equal in the eye of the state, including its laws, institutions and policies, regardless of identity. This includes the right of those who have been ethnically cleansed from Palestine to return and enjoy full citizenship.
Secular: Freedom of worship would be guaranteed, and one’s religion or identity would not be a factor in granting or denying rights to citizens or non-citizens. Radical measures would be taken to protect society from sectarian or racist ideologies, individuals and movements.
Socially just: Stolen land, homes and property would be restituted to all victims of dispossession. Resources and social welfare would be allotted fairly to all citizens. The income, poverty and education gaps would be bridged.
As such, the ODS solution differs from existing approaches to the Palestinian cause, as it:
Refuses proposals that politicize identity such as a state that discriminates against non-Jews or against Jews, one state exclusive to Jews next to another exclusive to Arabs, or a binational or confederate state.
Differs from approaches focused on means of liberation (such as military resistance or BDS efforts) or on rights or crimes (such as the right of return or Israeli apartheid) outside the context of a political solution to dismantle the Jewish state and establish a democratic state in its stead.
By refusing the politicization of identity altogether, the One Democratic State solution thus proposes the fundamental antithesis to the Zionist settler-colonial project: A project that views state as tools to administer the affairs of society rather than war machines in the hands of identity groups against others, and that thus proposes the dismantling of the Jewish state and the establishment of one secular, democratic state from the river to the sea.
Relevant readings:
It’s Time For Palestinians To Lobby For A ‘One State’ Solution — Nizar Milbes
‘From the River to the Sea’: Really? — Blake Alcott
Cultural resistance against Zionism: Key expressions and concepts — ODS Initiative
One Democratic State: An Ongoing Debate — Naji El Khatib and Ofra Yeshua-Lyth