The hysterical tone of Daniel Seidemann's plea to the next U.S. administration to save Israel from itself serves no useful purpose [op-ed, Aug. 26].
The demise of the "two-state solution" that he laments is overdone. It died many years ago; only the corpse has been on display.
The reason is not neglect by Americans but a profound lack of enthusiasm for it among Israelis and Palestinians -- albeit for differing reasons.
Mr. Seidemann is correct in citing Israel's growing infrastructure investments around Jerusalem as evidence of things to come, namely Israel's annexation of the West Bank for pragmatic reasons. This could be carried out with international cooperation and with the establishment of an Israeli-Jordanian authority that would grant Jordanian citizenship to Arabs living in the West Bank and Gaza.
It would ensure Arabs' welfare and rights and remove the need for an additional Palestine. Nor would Arabs living in Israel pose a demographic threat to the identity of the state or to its democracy.
I hope the Bush administration is pursuing quiet diplomacy to reach such a solution.
ALBERT NEKIMKEN
Vienna
