Haifa Republic: A Democratic Future for Israel

A Future for Israel is a wake-up call to liberal Zionists. In the last two decades, Israeli politics have been changing rapidly, but Zionist thinking on the left is lagging dangerously behind. Given the demise of a viable two-state solution, the struggle for a worthwhile political future in Israel depends not on establishing borders but on securing human and citizen rights. Denying this is by now akin to denying global warming and will lead to a catastrophe. Seventy years after the establishment of Israel, as Palestinians are again verging on becoming the majority within Israel's borders, the left has disappeared, the right is cooperating with Judeo-fascist parties, and Israeli leaders can be heard flirting with ideas about ethnic cleansing. Ignoring reality will invite scenarios worse than apartheid. A Future for Israel makes the case for reclaiming the vital center from Zionist chauvinism on the right and anti-Zionism on the left by articulating an alternative to two-state politics from within a liberal Zionist perspective. Omri Boehm argues that Israeli patriots must now challenge Zionist taboos as we have come to know them and dare to imagine the country's transformation from a Jewish state into a federal, binational republic--