These are thoughtful, knowledgeable people having a serious discussion about a complex topic.

Still, the very premise bothers me. Nations aren't validated or legitimated by "law" - i.e., by the agreement of other nations that they have a right to exist. 1/x https://twitter.com/mosaicmag/status/1361480474628149249

That's not just a moral statement that they *shouldn't* be, but that they're not, that no sort of lawyering can deliver real freedom.

Tragically, sometimes catastrophically, but nevertheless unavoidably, a nation's freedom is earned and sustained by power. 2/x

If not its own power, then someone else's.

Power isn't just firepower, of course. It's institutions, a shared narrative and social solidarity, democracy and political freedom. Over time, the soldiers of a democracy fight better and smarter than those deployed by autocracies. 3/x

The upshot: No outsider gave the Jews their state. No outsider *could* have, at least not sustainably. The Jews made the decision, and once the Jews wouldn't accept other options, whether others agreed became a tactical question, not a strategic one. 4/x

Consciously, with determination and at great cost, the Jews built for themselves the hard and real power, not just guns but institutions, that allows them not to ask permission.

And yes, there are lessons in this Israeli Jewish experience for Palestinians. 5/5