Israel is taking all the right steps

Loewenstein and Slezak also cite out of context Benny Morris, who they describe as a "leading Israeli historian", to support their outrageous claims about the history of the conflict. They are apparently unaware that the same Benny Morris has demolished the Mearsheimer-Walt thesis and indeed, took their argument apart piece by piece in an article titled "The ignorance at the heart of an innuendo. And now for some facts".

Morris was scathing in his assessment of their thesis, describing it as a "nasty piece of work" and concluding that "what these distinguished professors have produced is otherwise depressing to anyone who values intellectual integrity". Morris said in the Irish Times in February that "the demonisation of Israel is largely based on lies — much as the demonisation of the Jews during the past 2000 years has been based on lies".

This lack of intellectual integrity is carried over in the works of many who seek to revise the history of the region in their quest to reject the notion of two states to resolve the conflict. The most problematic claim made by Loewenstein and Slezak is that Israel is "not the state of its citizens but only of the Jewish people" and that it discriminates against its Arab population.

In this aspect, as in many others, they deny the fact that Israeli Arabs are recognised on an equal footing as citizens of Israel. Arabic is one of the country's official languages, along with Hebrew and English, and the Arab population has grown significantly (so much for supposed "ethnic cleansing"), as have the numbers in employment and schooling. Arabs are also well represented in Israel's parliament and it has an Arab minister in its government. By contrast, the stated aim of Hamas and other Arab political entities is to categorically and violently rid the region of Jews.

Israel may not be perfect, but it is a vibrant democracy surrounded by Arab dictatorships and theocracies. The only hope for peace in the region remains the creation of an independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel, rather than instead of Israel.

For this to occur, the Palestinian leadership must immediately cease all violence and terror, financial support for terror and incitement, and more importantly, re-educate Palestinians that this is the only option to move forward. Only then can the world give its wholehearted support to the process taking place between Israel and the Palestinian Authority which seeks to bring reconciliation, peace and prosperity to the two peoples.

Dr Danny Lamm is the president of the State Zionist Council of Victoria.