I was happy to read this morning that many people in Ben Ghazi demonstrated against the terrorist militias and apprently drove some of them out of town. They realized that the terrorists were using them and have been trying to replace the dictatorship against which they fought with another one at least as bad as the original. This is a ray of hope for the Middle East. Maybe it is a pollyanna idea, but eventually (maybe after generations) history will be with reason and not with the zealots. Maybe even the rational people in Iran will throw out the mullahs one day.
To Israel, I say reason. democracy, openess, and pluralism are your strengths. Narrowness, exclusion, and fundamentalism are your weaknesses. Your mistrust of your neighbors is understandable. Military superiority for now is absolutely necessary. The Middle East is a scary and unpredictable place, but it is the place where you live. History has brought you there, and there is nowhere else to go. Turning yourself into another inward fundamentalist theocracy (even a Jewish one) will not serve you well.
To the Arabs, I say look upon Israel as an opportunity, not an anomaly. History has put Jews and Arabs on two different roads, but racially (if that makes any difference), by language, and by origin, we are as close as any people can be. Israel has the technical know how to bring your culture forward and to make the Middle East again become an economic and cultural center in the world.
Both sides need to promote their common interests, put aside minor religious details, and lighten up.
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