Isaac Herzog

Isaac Herzog was interviewed by Farid Zakaria on CNN this morning. If I were an Israeli, I would vote for Herzog. He seems to have a reasonable approach to Israel's relations with the world around it. It is safer for Israel to be part of the coalition of sane nations. It is not in Israel's interest to side with one US party over another. It is foolhardy for Netanyahu to put Israel's security at risk for his political ends before the upcoming Israeli elections. Herzog, Netanyahu, and Obama (also most Arab leaders) agree that Iran should not develop a nuclear bomb. It could lead to a nuclear arms race that would threaten all the countries in the region. But Netanyahu makes off like he is the only one who cares and has the right path to make it happen. It's not true. Israel needs to continue negotiating with the Palestinians toward resolving their problems, and Israel needs to be as inclusive as possible toward the 25% of its population that is not Jewish. But the Arabs also need to discourage hatred toward Jews among their population to give the Israeli people the confidence to make concessions. It has to start in schools, both Jewish and Moslem, in Israel, the West Bank, and the surrounding Arab countries, to teach the advantages of friendship and discourage hatred toward each other. Israel and its neighbors have common interests that potentially are greater than their differences.