Opinion: How Trump’s Jerusalem decision kills hope for a Palestinian state — and leaves Israel worse off

To the editor: I sympathize with The Times Editorial Board’s plea for the Trump administration to “get serious” about bringing about Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that would lead to a sovereign, economically viable Palestinian state alongside Israel as the clearest path to peace. But that is a hollow hope because the White House has shown no hint of going in that direction. (“Trump bungles his quest for the ‘ultimate deal’ in the Middle East,” Jan. 6)

For decades there has been a tension in American Israeli-Palestinian policy. The U.S. has said it supports an end to the occupation and the emergence of a Palestinian state, but it has acted contrary to that policy. The only hope for peace was for the U.S. to start acting in conformity to its stated policy.

President Trump’s Jerusalem decision resolved that tension by changing American policy to conform with its actions. That killed any hope for a Palestinian state and set Israel on a short path to fully acknowledged apartheid. A Palestinian drive for equality will surely follow.

Jeff Warner, Los Angeles

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To the editor: One would think The Times Editorial Board has a calendar that reads “1968” rather than 2018.

Is the board unaware that for the last few years, Israel and the most powerful of the Arab states, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have formed a de facto alliance against Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah? Isn’t it interesting that while all the Arab states publicly denounced Trump’s proper decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, none of the Arab states took any concrete action relative to the decision?

The board might heed the adage that things are not always as they seem.

Nathaniel J. Friedman, Beverly Hills

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