Grant in Israel

Via Harry's Place: Linda Grant in the Guardian explaining to a young Israeli that many Europeans don't accept a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"You should explain to them about how Israel was created by the UN, two countries, one Arab, one Jewish. It's all in black and white."

Yes, well, I went on, there's the view that the UN had no right to do that against the will of Palestinians, it was a mistake that needs to corrected. I could see now, that it was as if I was telling him that there were people who thought that the earth was flat or the moon made of green cheese. "But what about the Balfour Declaration?" That was an example of perfidious Albion, I went on.

"Okay, so Israel is not going to exist, where are you going to send us next? My family have been here eight generations, by the way." You don't have to go anywhere, I said. You and the Palestinians stay right here in one big country. There was a silence, as this sank in. I felt I was announcing the imminent cancellation of the solar system. "Right," he said, "so now we're all dead."

Blatantly. But, for some reason, a lot of Europeans don't seem at all troubled by the prospect of such a final solution.