Israel/Palestine FIX

What is Two Stars for Peace?
>It is the name for a grassroots plan to solve the Middle East Crisis by merging Palestine and Israel into the U.S. as the 51st and 52nd states.

Why should Americans add Palestine and Israel as states?
>American statehood for Israel and Palestine will solve America's biggest foreign relations problem, and also contribute to a reduction in terrorism. No country other than America has this ability to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East. No other solution will work for long. The expansion will also infuse new economic and cultural dynamism into America because Israelis and Palestinians are amongst the most creative people in the world.

Why should Israel and Palestine give up sovereignty for U.S. statehood?
>Joining the U.S. means Israel and Palestine share U.S. sovereignty. They do not give up sovereignty, but instead trade stand-alone sovereignty for shared sovereignty. Shared American sovereignty offers Israel and Palestine the benefits of peace, stability, economic growth and justice, none of which have been obtainable with stand-alone sovereignty.

Isn't adding states to America very difficult?
>It only takes a majority vote of the U.S. Congress to add a state. No nationwide vote is required. 37 states have been added since the U.S. was founded. The time gap between adding Hawaii and adding Israel/Palestine is shorter than the time gap that existed before adding Alaska as a state.

Aren't Israel and Palestine too far away to add?
>There is only a two hour flight difference between Washington-Jerusalem and Washington-Honolulu. When California was added as a state, the travel difference was measured in weeks.

What about language?
>A much greater percentage of Israelis and Palestinians speak English than do immigrants to the U.S. from Latin America and Asia.

>>139400186
What about Jewish settlers in the West Bank?
>They could remain, but would become residents of the American state of Palestine, and would be subject to Palestinian state law. Both Israeli and Palestinian state law would have to treat all citizens - Arabs, Immigrants, Jews, Christians, Moslems - equally in accordance with the U.S. Constitutional guarantees of Equal Protection and Due Process.

What about Jerusalem?
>West Jerusalem would be the capital of the American state of Israel. East Jerusalem would be the capital of the American state of Palestine. There would be no border between the two capitals. Moving between them would be like traveling from Manhattan, NY to Newark, NJ or Bethesda, Maryland to Fairfax, Virginia.

How long would this statehood process take?
>A grassroots "two stars" movement could make it happen within two years!

What about the Right of Return for Jews and Palestinians?
>The Two Stars Plan is flexible enough to permit Jews and Palestinians in Diaspora (living outside of Israel or Palestine) to resettle in Israel or Palestine as American citizens. A new category of immigration visa would be established to ensure the returnees qualified. There are only about 3-5 million Jews and Palestinians living in Diaspora outside of the United States. Thus, it will not be difficult to absorb this number of people within America's 300 million person population. Indeed, every decade America absorbs more illegal immigrants than the total possible number of Jews and Palestinians in Diaspora.

>>139400225
What about the role of religion in Israel and Palestine?
>Israel can still be considered "the Jewish state" in the same way that Utah is considered "the Mormon state." Friday, the Islamic sabbath, can continue to be respected by closing government offices on that day in Palestine. Just as in America, followers of every religion in Israel and Palestine will be assured of their right to observe their faith. Also, as in America, Israeli and Palestinian governments could not preferentially favor one or more religions. Religion and government must stay separate in the American system -- yet this does not diminish at all the extent to which people may observe their faith. Proof of this can be seen in the fact that America nurtures even the most observant forms of all the great religions.