The Strategic Imperative of the Two-State Solution

On September 16, General Danny Rothschild (Ret.) of the Israeli Defense Forces and Major General Peal D. Eaton (Ret.) of the US army discussed Israel and the United States' shared strategic interests with an emphasis on how the two-state solution has become a matter of both Israeli and US national security. The topics discussed ranged from the potential for settlement evacuation to Israel's incursion into Gaza during December 2008 and January 2009. The event was moderated by Daniel Levy, Director of the Middle East Task Force.  

General Rothschild outlined three trends that have come about in the Middle East: 1) "Islamization" threatening secular regimes; 2) changing demographics threatening the balance in Israel; 3) Iran's lack of transparency regarding the checks and balances related its prospective nuclear arsenal. Major General Eaton also spoke about the security threats Israel faces. He recalled that during his service in Iraq, he began to fully understand Israel's impact on regional security.

General Rothschild spoke at length about the logistics of settlement evacuation. He emphasized that despite that a future evacuation of Jewish settlers from the West Bank will be substantially more difficult than it was to evacuate settlers from Gaza in 2005, its execution is a necessity and the Israeli military is capable. Without such a move, he warned that when Israel and the Occupied Territory's demographics come to reflect a 50-50 Jewish-Arab balance, "if we let [the Palestinians vote], with the principle of one man one vote, as it should be, Israel will not be a Jewish state. If we will not let them vote, we become an apartheid state." Major General Eaton agreed, adding that once borders were created and an autonomous Palestinian were to come about, the United States would still expect Israel to defend itself against foreign threats.

General Danny Rothschild, Israeli Defense Forces (Ret.) heads the Council for Peace and Security, an Israeli organization of over 1,000 retired IDF generals, intelligence officials, Shin Bet and senior police officers weighing in on peace and security debates in Israel. He has served as Deputy Director of Military Intelligence, Chief of the Intelligence Research and Analysis Department, and Coordinator of Government Activities in the Palestinian Territories.

Major General Paul D. Eaton, US Army (Ret.) served more than 30 years in the United States Army, including combat and post-combat assignments in Iraq, Bosnia and Somalia. As a Major General serving in Iraq, he designed and began the training of the Iraqi military and security forces from 2003 to 2004.

This event is sponsored by the New America Foundation's Middle East Task Force, The National Security Network, and J Street. 

Participants

featured speakers
Major General Danny Rothschild
Israeli Defense Forces (Ret.)
President, Council for Peace and Security

Major General Paul D. Eaton
U.S. Army (Ret.)
Senior Adviser, National Security Network

moderator
Daniel Levy
Director, Middle East Task Force
New America Foundation