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........

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