To the Editor:
Re “Declare a Palestinian State,” by Jerome M. Segal (NYT, Op-Ed, Feb. 23):
Mr. Segal’s call for Palestinian statehood, before resolution of the core issues, is a recipe for total disaster and incongruent with international law.
Why would any honest person, well-informed about history and committed to the rule of law, suggest recognizing a Palestinian state without borders? This same international blunder created the State of Israel and has cost innumerable lives ever since.
Declaring a Palestinian state is not the issue. Palestinians issued a Declaration of Independence back on 15 November 1988 and, at the time, more countries formally recognized it than officially recognized the State of Israel originally. Sadly, the US and Israel were on the wrong side of history then, as now.
Any diplomatic attempt to fragment Palestinian rights—first and foremost among them the right of Palestinian refugees to return home—is merely arm-twisting: selling a fragmented diplomatic reality to match the tortuous and fragmented reality on the ground, created by Israel, using force. What for? Palestinians aren’t buying.
Sam Bahour
Al-Bireh, occupied Palestine
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Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American business consultant, writer, and commentator based in Al-Bireh/Ramallah, Palestine. He is the principal of Applied Information Management (AIM), a consultancy specializing in business development and startup advisory services.
Bahour played a foundational role in establishing two of Palestine’s publicly traded companies: the Palestine Telecommunications Company (PALTEL) and the Arab Palestinian Shopping Centers (APSC). He co-founded Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy (A4VPE), of which he is now an emeritus member, and served as an independent director on the board of Arab Islamic Bank P.L.C. from 2004 to 2025. He currently serves on the board of Just Vision and The Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS).
He frequently gives talks to delegations visiting Palestine on the subjects of Palestine’s political economy, Palestinian Politics 101, and a general orientation to the state of affairs under Israeli military occupation.
A prolific writer on Palestinian affairs, Bahour has been published in major international outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, Haaretz, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera America, Le Monde diplomatique, Al-Monitor, +972 Magazine, The Hill, and Arab News. He has appeared as a commentator on NPR, CNN, BBC, and other broadcast media.
Bahour is the co-editor of Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians (Olive Branch Press, 1993) and was profiled in the bestselling anthology Kingdom of Olives and Ash, edited by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, in a chapter authored by Chabon titled “The Tallest Man in Ramallah.” He holds an Associate’s and Bachelor’s degree in Computer Technology from Youngstown State University, and a Kellogg-Recanati International Executive MBA — a joint program of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Recanati Business School at Tel Aviv University.
He tweets at @SamBahour, blogs at www.epalestine.ps, and may be reached at sbahour[AT]gmail[DOT]com.
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