The French philosopher and writer Bernard-Henri Lévy publica ‘The loneliness of Israel’ (The sphere of books), an essay in which he defends Israel’s survival after the attacks of October 7, 2023 and its “importance as a bastion of democracy” in the Middle East. In that sense, he has assured that his entire life has believed in the two-state solution, but only with “a decent Palestinian government.”
“All my life I have supported the two-state solution. I haven’t changed my mind. But not with Hamas in power, nor with Jihad, nor with Mahmoud Abbas in power, who has not condemned October 7. He has not uttered any words of condemnation. So, yes, I still firmly believe in the two-state solution, but when there is a decent Palestinian government that also accepts that solution. Israel must accept the Palestinian State, but also for the Palestinian State to accept Israel. The two-state solution with a Palestine that wants the disappearance of Israel, does not“Lévy explained in an interview with Europa Press.
Thus, the writer has assured that “the death in combat” of the leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Yahya Sinwar, at the hands of Israeli forces in a bombing carried out this Thursday against the Gaza Strip opens “more” than the possibility of a ceasefire and has considered it “the beginning of the end of the war.”
Despite Lévy’s inclination for the two-state solution, he has described the recognition of the State of Palestine last May by the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, as a “moral and political error” for the moment in the which was done, in which Palestine was run by Hamas.
“Recognizing the Palestinian State that day meant recognizing a State led by Hamas. That Pedro Sánchez supports a Palestinian State, why not? I support it too. But if there was a time when that recognition should not be made, it is the moment in which he did it. It was also the moment when Yolanda Díaz, his vice president, spoke as if she were a Hamas militant. With all her dignity as vice president, she proclaimed the Hamas slogan: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will thus be free’. The first thing Sánchez should have done that day was make Mrs. Díaz leave,” he reiterated.
“ISRAEL HAS DONE WHAT IT COULD IN THAT CONTEXT”
In ‘The Solitude of Israel’ the author explores the idea of whether the response of the Israeli Defense Forces against Palestine is “proportionate” and, in that sense, he has stressed that Israel’s objective is for the hostages to be released and that the October 7 will not be reproduced again, which has led the army to carry out “military operations” in which it has done “what it could in that context.”
“Israel has done what it can in that context. I will not be the one to arrogantly say that I know better than the generals what had to be done to achieve that war objective, I am not a soldier. The decisions that must be made are very serious and have an impact on people’s lives and deaths. But what I do know is that as in any democracy, the Israeli military does the best they can, that is the feeling they have, that they do the best possible,” he clarified.
Even so, he has stated that one can be Jewish – and not be – and at the same time criticize the actions being carried out by the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu, but he warns that this can lead to anti-Semitism.
“You can not be Jewish and criticize this government, you don’t have to be Jewish to criticize the Israeli government. The principle of all democracy is that whoever governs can and must receive criticism from citizens, whoever they may be,” he concluded.