Correction and Apology: Correction and Apology: I Was Wrong About Chris Rabb and the Two-State Solution

Earlier today, I published an article arguing that Chris Rabb simultaneously supports a two-state solution and a Palestinian right of return.

After taking a closer look, I can’t confirm that Chris Rabb supports a two-state solution. I also can’t confirm that he opposes a two-state solution.

My error was assuming more than the evidence supported. I had previously read statements in which Rabb spoke about Israelis and Palestinians living together peacefully, and I extrapolated from that language that he supported a two-state solution.

I have removed the article.

That said, I remain confident in the following points:

• According to historian Benny Morris, the violence that followed the U.N. Partition Resolution in late 1947 was initiated overwhelmingly by Arab forces.

• Arab leaders rejected the U.N. Partition Plan and launched what they described as a holy war to prevent the establishment of a Jewish state.

• Chris Rabb has referenced the Nakba and has described it in terms that place responsibility on Israel, while giving little or no attention to the roles played by Arab leaders, the rejection of partition, and the war that followed.

• Chris Rabb has publicly supported reaffirming a Palestinian right of return.

• Under the interpretation of Right of Return generally advanced by Palestinian activists, nearly six million registered Palestinian refugees and descendants could potentially claim the right to settle in pre-1967 Israel.

These facts lead me to a question:

If nearly six million Palestinian refugees and descendants are permitted to settle in pre-1967 Israel, how can Israel remain a Jewish-majority state?

Marc Stier argues that Chris Rabb opposes Netanyahu’s policies but is not opposed to the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state.

Rabb’s public comments about the Nakba and his support for a broad Palestinian right of return point in a different direction.

Given those positions, I do not understand how support for a broad Palestinian right of return can be reconciled with preserving Israel as a Jewish-majority state.

After reviewing the issue more carefully, I remain unconvinced by Marc Stier’s claim that Rabb’s vision is consistent with preserving Israel as a Jewish-majority stat