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February 24th, 2021 
Awake Goy Last week Shibley Telhami and Marc Lynch released a survey of nearly 1300 Middle East scholars that found that by large majorities they regard the reality in Israel/Palestine as “akin to apartheid” and think the two-state solution is dead.
Perhaps the starkest finding of the survey is the collective assessment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A strong majority, 59%, describes the current reality for Israel and the Palestinians as “a one-state reality akin to apartheid.”
Here are the key questions and results. Likelihood of a two-state “outcome”
a) It’s no longer possible 52%
b) It’s possible and probable within the next ten years 6
c) It’s possible, but improbable within the next ten years 42
And, the apartheid question. Which of the following comes closest to describing the current reality in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza:
a) The state of Israel with temporary occupation of the West Bank and Gaza 2%
b) The state of Israel with semi-permanent occupation of the West Bank and Gaza 30
c) Two unequal states 1
d) A one-state reality with inequality, but not akin to Apartheid 7
e) A one-state reality akin to Apartheid 59
Telhami and Lynch observe, “While the Biden administration will probably seek to kick-start diplomacy, the experts offer little hope for achieving a two-state solution.”
The Washington Post published the findings as a survey of “experts” but managed to not mention the key findings in the headline.
This survey supports what Al-Haq calls the “mounting recognition” that Israel is practicing apartheid. Comedian Michael Che echoed that recognition on Saturday Night Live four days ago bringing a torrent of condemnation from Israel supporters but far more support from Israel critics. The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem issued a bombshell report saying Israel maintains “a regime of Jewish supremacy between” the river and the sea last month. It follows on many other such pronouncements, including Rep. Betty McCollum saying the word “apartheid” to the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights 2 years ago.
And as we wrote last week, there is a long tradition of the mainstream media ignoring these declarations. And right alongside that, of liberal Zionists avoiding the news. There has been scarcely any pickup of the Telhami/Lynch survey outside the Washington Post blog they put it on and Newsweek. “In the foreign policy establishment there’s still this theology of the two state solution,” as Ben Rhodes said on Peter Beinart’s podcast 10 days ago.
My only question is why only 59 percent call it apartheid? quips Donald Johnson. The number grows to 77 percent when the scholars were asked, If there’s no two-state solution in ten years, which is most likely to describe the reality in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
a) A single state with equality between Israelis and Palestinians 1%
b) A one-state reality with increasing inequality, 17
but not akin to Apartheid
c) A one-state reality akin to Apartheid 77
d) A confederation 3
Refused 2
Takeaway, nobody sees equality on the horizon! The Jewish state is just going to extend its discriminatory reach.
The scholars are plainly more left-leaning than establishment types. By two-to-one they said that the U.S. interests are best served by returning “immediately to the JCPOA [Iran deal] before addressing other issues.” 23 percent echoed the Biden/f.p. establishment line that the U.S. should try to negotiate a more expansive Iran deal that includes missiles and drones “and regional security.”
Conducted earlier this month, the survey drew “on the membership of the Middle East Studies Association, the American Political Science Association’s MENA Politics Section and the Project on Middle East Political Science at George Washington University.” The experts were allowed to respond anonymously. 28 percent of the experts live outside the United States, 71 percent in the United States.
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