>> Quite a statement Sun and you wonder why we always fight.
I knew this would ruffle a few feathers, but as I said, I did not mean this as an insult. The similarities are there and acknowledged by many people. Of course, I am not saying there is a moral equivalency here. As far as I know Israel is not planning a "final solution" for Palestinians, so may be I should have compared it to Apartheid SA than Nazi Germany, though I doubt that would make it any more palatable...
>> You could make the same or very similar statement about the Palestinians and/or other arab states
Absolutely. It always takes two to tango, and I thought I said as much when I referred to them as, " match or perhaps exceed Israel's temperament every step of the way". But there is a quantitative and qualitative difference. Israel is the 4th strongest military power in the world. It is this capability that makes me put the emphasis on Israeli radicals compared to Palestinian radicals. The latter can throw stones as hard as it wants, or even blow up busses, and it will not compare...but perhaps that debate will not get us anywhere.
Last night I had a discussion with an American-Jewish friend of mine who has lived in Israel. We pretty much agree on most issues, including the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, except the threat that Israeli radicals present. To him, they are just a bunch of nut-cases who are just out there, while he acknowledges that there are much greater number of Israelis who while do not fully agree with the extreme right, they believe they serve a purpose.
To me, these people and their silent supporters are far more dangerous. Aside from the fact that they are a constituency that politicians have to cater to and therefore divert sound policies, they have and do act as agent provocateurs who not only prevent the peace process but actually increase the polarization in their quest to bring the issue to a head. I believe that eventually, either directly or through responses they provoke, they will bring about a disaster. You should listen to some of the talk in some of Israeli papers. This will get even worse and the situation will get even riskier as the current generation of Israeli and Arab leaders give way to the more radicalized younger leaders...Saudi will be a case in point after 5-10 years.
Always remember war turns to peace when both sides find it an impossible solution. This does not happen when the balance of power is so one-sided and I have seen nothing to suggest that Israel finds the current situation unacceptable rather than merely unpleasant. |
