When I first watched Rahm Emanuel’s speech in Israel, I was struck by the boldness of his proposal. My immediate reaction was that I liked the overall concept. I let it sit for several days. The more I considered it, the more convinced I became that my initial instinct was right.

Rahm did not stand in Washington and lecture Israel for the benefit of an American political audience. He went to Israel and spoke directly to Israelis. He knew the speech would be controversial, particularly for someone widely believed to be preparing for a presidential campaign.

That took political courage.

Rahm Emanuel is a Jewish American Democrat, Zionist, and longtime national leader.

He is placing his reputation behind an actual proposal for a more peaceful and prosperous Israel, not merely repeating the words “two-state solution” without explaining how Gaza would be governed, who would restrain terrorism, who would finance reconstruction, or who would prevent another Palestinian territory from becoming an Iranian military base.

His regional proposal would bring Israel, a future Palestinian governing entity, and the other members of the Arab League into one comprehensive agreement. Five Arab League countries already have peace treaties or normalized relations with Israel: Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. Sudan announced normalization, although the process was never completed.

Imagine what could follow if the remaining Arab governments acted together. A 23-state solution. That would be enormous in more ways than one.

The Arab world would recognize Israel, participate in creating responsible Palestinian governance, help finance reconstruction, assume a role in security, and stop leaving Israel alone to manage Gaza and the West Bank indefinitely.

Israel, meanwhile, would........

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