Does the Israeli government — or ours for that matter — see the sad irony in opposing votes at the UN regarding the recognition of a Palestinian state? Where would Israel be today were it not for the votes taken in 1947? Yet here we are in 2011, with Israel and the United States opposing action that reiterates the UN’s longstanding support for a two-state solution. Rather than opposing the recognition of a Palestinian state by the UN, Israel and the U.S. should endorse it and work with the Palestinian Authority to ensure its implementation. The longer Israel, the PA and the U.S. delay, the greater the possibility that dream of two states living in peace alongside each other will fade like a mirage in the desert. Instead we could look forward to the triumph of the maximalist, anti-Israel Hamas party, the anti-Palestinian activities of ultra-nationalist, pro-settlement Israelis, and decades of increased violence.