Every era is marked by points where key decisions that are taken dictate the kind of lives future generations will lead. Today we are at such a point in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Decisions cannot be postponed forever or denied their existence. One of the main benefits of the 'road map' is that the die has been cast for real decisions to be taken. Israeli leaders have until now believed they could maintain the occupation forever. As a Palestinian living in America, one fights to remain connected. And the connection lies in the dream of Palestine.

There are those who would crush the dream of returning to the land from Palestinian hearts, thus paving the way for 'political realism'. These include Palestinian, Israeli and American leaders. For them, the coldness of realpolitik animates their beliefs. But they forget that every noble idea or accomplishment in history has emanated not from the frozen recesses of the mind but from the heat of a flaming heart. So what I write today hopefully will give voice to that flame.

No person on earth can waive another Palestinian's right to return to their place of dispossession. These are individual rights guaranteed to each Palestinian not just by international law but by a higher commandment in which justice reigns.

Let every Palestinian decide. The choice is clear: they can decide to settle inside Israel – a country that sanctions racism - or they can choose to help build a new state based upon equality for all, regardless of ethnicity, race or religion.

Whether in the camps of Syria, Lebanon or Jordan, or among the five million exiled Palestinians living from Europe to America, each refugee must decide.

But it must be their choice – not Abu Mazen's, not Sharon's, and not Bush's.

If the alternatives are made clear, Palestinians will overwhelmingly choose to help create and be part of a new Palestine. Palestine needs their spirit, their courage and their dreams.

Refugees are not bartering chips, but the lifeblood of a struggle that has withstood over 50 years of the worst kind of subjugation. They have refused to lose their identity and for that alone they must be treated with the respect they deserve. Palestine needs them and they need Palestine. Instead of appealing to the best impulses in Palestinians all over the world, many Palestinian leaders, like longtime PLO heavyweight Sari Nusseibeh, have asked them to relinquish their legitimate rights.

These devotees of realpolitik denigrate the dream because they have forgotten how to dream. They cannot promote a grander vision and offer despair, dressed up as compromise, instead of hope.

As long as Israel is a Zionist entity, it can never truly be a welcome, friendly neighbor worthy of normalized relationships. Its ideology is inherently racist and these types of neighbors rarely make comfortable bedfellows. How many refugees would rather live under systemic, institutional racism when they can become a productive citizen of Palestine with full rights?

But if any refugee takes the decision to live under Israeli sovereignty, with its institutionalized racist core, that is their decision to make and theirs alone.Jaffer Ali is a Palestinian-American businessman. Courtesy of Media Monitors Network.