Emmanuel Macron is right: Recognize a Palestinian state
French President Emmanuel Macron will lead an international conference in New York today to showcase international support for recognizing Palestine as an independent state. Macron’s conference will be the culmination of a months-long campaign opposed by the Trump administration.
The administration’s position reflects conventional thinking in Washington, and among my fellow leaders of the American Jewish community. The argument is that Palestinian statehood should only come as a result of direct negotiations. But this reasoning is at odds with the current reality. The devastating violence of Oct. 7, 2023, the destruction of Gaza that followed, and the humanitarian crisis we see there today have created an urgent need for a new approach.
Within Israel, and for many Americans who are in regular touch with Israelis, this is a fraught moment for talk of Palestinian statehood. Israelis are traumatized. They are mourning loved ones, facing daily rocket fire from as far away as Yemen and living with uncertainty about what tomorrow may bring. Talk of a Palestinian state is seen as an unacceptable risk.
American recognition of Palestinian statehood, however, can reverse three destructive dynamics that contribute to the current crisis. Recognition can pull the rug out from under extremist movements — including Hamas — that grew because the peace process faltered. It can reset the failed power structures that sabotaged previous peace talks, and it can shatter the illusion, increasingly prevalent in the Israeli public, that more settlements and a mass expulsion of Palestinians is a viable path forward.
Hamas thrives on despair. In contrast, recognition of a Palestinian state strengthens moderate Palestinian leaders who reject violence and pursue diplomacy. By recognizing a Palestinian state, the U.S. can offer hope that a two-state solution can happen.
Hope is a powerful force. I was an IDF soldier in the mid-1990s. At the time, most Palestinians believed that the Oslo Accords would lead to national liberation in the form of a Palestinian state. In that context, Hamas was a marginal player. Just as the peace process of the 1990s was a threat to Hamas, so too can international recognition of Palestinian statehood marginalize it today. The talking point that statehood is akin to rewarding terror ignores this reality.
Beyond weakening Hamas, recognition would also fix the dynamics of future negotiations. For 30 years, the foundation of the peace process included a profound imbalance: Israel is a sovereign state, while Palestinians are treated as petitioners for the right to self-determination. That asymmetry supported the logic of endless “interim” measures that ended up entrenching the occupation rather than resolving it. It is time to level the diplomatic playing field and create the conditions for effective negotiations.
Finally, recognition of a Palestinian state can send a vital message to the Israeli public that the settler-driven vision of permanent domination of the West Bank and Gaza is a dangerous fantasy, not sustainable policy. A clear American statement to this effect is particularly needed now in light of the rhetoric and actions of the current Israeli government, which includes ministers so extreme that they used to be considered untouchable. In light of the insecurity that Israelis feel, they are more receptive to the “might makes right” arguments voiced by these leaders.
American recognition would communicate to the Israeli public that the global community will not accept the endless subjugation of the Palestinian people. Such clarity is essential if Israelis are to reckon honestly with the choices before them: coexistence through two states, or perpetual conflict that undermines Israel’s democratic and Jewish future — as well as its own security.
In this moment, with ceasefire talks stalled, the IDF struggling to call up reserves, and the death toll in Gaza mounting, it is time to rethink our old assumptions and to take advantage of the opportunity that lies in American recognition of Palestine. Macron already has. Some in Congress are already there too. This week, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is leading a letter calling on the U.S. to recognize Palestine. Last Thursday, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced the first-ever Senate resolution calling for recognition as well.
The Trump administration needs to catch up. Further delay will come at the cost of lives, stability and hope.
Hadar Susskind is the president and CEO of New Jewish Narrative, a national Jewish organization that believes that peace and justice are the birthright of Israelis, of Palestinians and of all people.