I think to see my point I need to be clear that I do not think the hatred of Israel is just, logical, or productive. Its just a very good reason, and had a better reason been available then Israel may not have been a factor.
Agreed. Tom Friedman put it well when he said, "50 years ago the countries of Southeast Asia said to their populations, give up democracy and we'll give you prosperity. Now, 50 years on, they have prosperity and they're beginning to democratize. 50 years ago the Arab countries said to their populations, give up democracy and we'll give you the Arab-Israeli conflict. Now, 50 years on, they're worse off than ever but they still have the Arab-Israeli conflict."
The really sad and scary thing is that when you watch the rhetoric coming out of the Arab world today, you realize that the majority of Arabs are preparing themselves to cheer, whole-heartedly and without reservation, on the day that OBL or one of the Palestinian groups does manage to kill Jews by the thousand -- and I use the word Jew, and not Israeli, advisedly in this context. The Arab countries are seething with an anti-Semitism not seen since the Third Reich.
But then, this should no longer be a surprise. Most of Mideast threw a party on 9/11, disclaimers of the official spokesmen aside. |
