Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Cherie Cullen / WikiCommons.

It is a given that every Jew in and outside of Israel wants to see Israel as a vibrant country: an economic powerhouse with a thriving democracy, self-confident and secure, capable of defending itself and deterring any enemy far and near from challenging its right to exist, at peace with its neighbors, respected by the international community, excelling in its humanity and caring about others, and a beacon and a light unto other nations.

The imminent collapse of the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations raises the critical question: will the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ever be resolved? More than six decades of debilitating violent discord did little to usher in an agreement. The shifting reality on the ground made the prospect of a solution increasingly dimmer, more distant, and laden with ominous danger.

No one knows the history of the Jews better than the Jews themselves. Persecution, segregation, expulsion, and death unmatched in human history were their lot nearly everywhere. But such unspeakable historic misfortune offers no license to inflict pain, suffering, and indignity onto others.

Knowing the true meaning of dehumanization, degradation, and derision must give rise to the Jews’ moral values and humanity by treating the Palestinians with compassion and sensitivity. With the inevitability of coexistence and fate intertwined, what hope will be in the offing for tomorrow if not harmony and peace?

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Occupation must end not only because of its inherent injustice, as it demeans, debases, and degrades the Palestinians, but because of what the occupation does to the Israelis – it discredits and disgraces Jewish heritage and changes the once-oppressed Jews into merciless, heartless oppressors. No, this is not why Israel was created.

They want what you Israelis cherish. They want dignity, they want freedom, and they want the human rights that you so relish – but you wantonly deny them the very values you uphold so high.

He is an ideological zealot, driven by biblical precepts that have long since lost any relevance to today’s reality. He believes that he was divinely chosen to lead, but fails to understand that divinity placed the Palestinians inescapably and permanently side-by-side with Israel.

Yes, stand beside Israel they must, but supporting misguided policies like the blind leading the blind not only denies the Palestinians their human rights but imperils the very existence of the third commonwealth that the Jews yearned for millennia, which they must never forget.

America remains the last beacon of hope to save Israel from traveling this suicidal path. As the U.S. deliberates its future plans about the peace process, this may well be Secretary Kerry’s last ditch effort.

Israeli leaders will be wise to remember that once the U.S. decides that the prospect for a peace agreement remains elusive at best, it may well leave the Israelis and Palestinians to their own devices.

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. Contact: [email protected]