Some time ago, the rumor was floated, partly by Yasser Arafat and partly by the Europeans, that if Israel were to accommodate the Palestinians, peace would come to the Middle East.
US President George Bush, while in Brussels, echoed that rumor without really knowing or understanding the Middle East. "Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and Palestinian reform could give momentum to changes throughout the Middle East," he said.
I like dreams because you can make them anything you want. In this case, the dream has nothing to do with Israel. It has to do with many almost imponderables. I will list a few I know, but then, there are a lot no one knows.
First, we know that there are many terrorist leaders and organizations whose entire life's work has been dedicated to terrorizing. There is no other work for them. It is their chosen profession and they will not stop.
Then there are the mullahs, the imams, the ayatollahs whose dedication to Koranic law cannot allow what they call a nation of unbelievers (infidels) to exist - not only in the region, but on this planet. They will not stop unless defeated or unless all religions eventually submit to Islam and Shari'a law. This is something that is non-negotiable and will continue under Dar Al-Islam until it is accomplished. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is only one small facet of a clash of civilizations with which neither Europe nor America have come to grips - yet.
There is more. The leaders of Syria, Iran, Egypt and even the so-called new Iraq need an adversary so as to stay in power. Dictatorships are like that. Fear keeps people obedient, but even a fictitious outside threat (Israel) creates an impressive reason for suppression. They need Israel as they need to breathe. If the West's dream of imposing democracy or peace is through the elimination of Palestinian hostility to Israel, then, well, dream on.
There is more. The Arab Muslim culture rests on two pillars: pride and shame. They always knew that Europe and America were far more advanced than Arabia in almost all fields and they hated Western Civilization and the Judeo-Christian culture that supports it. The Muslims hated their inferiority because it insulted their pride. Then came the era of pricey oil and the West came crawling. It wasn't anything the Arab world had achieved, but it restored their vaunted pride.
Then came Israel, and the Arab Muslims had a chance to further elevate a pride they had not known since the Kurd Saladin bested the Christians in the 12th century. It was a long time to wait, but anticipating the coming battle with the Jews, whom they were certain to beat, was joyful.
But it didn't happen as they planned. In 1948, when Israel declared her independence as a Jewish State, six Arab armies attacked a rag-tag population of 600,000 Jews, many of them just off the boats from the death camps of Europe. They, the Arab armies, well-armed and some trained by the British, lost ignominiously and fled the battlefield.
Now, pride was lost, at least until it could be recovered in blood and battle. The Arabs lost all the subsequent wars they started and the need to win grew deeper, as did the shame. They gambled the land and their pride, and now they tell the world they deserve to have it back.
The rumor that settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will restore lost Arab pride and eliminate their shame is deliberately misleading. Shame can't be removed with paper agreements, it must be recovered in battle, which is why there will be no peace.
There is still more. The Europeans' century upon century of Jew-hating culminated in the German Nazi Holocaust. But it didn't end there. When oil became pricey and very needed, the Europeans wanted the Arab Muslims on their side, and that required sharing their hatred of the Jews. Despite a brief period of guilt, the Europeans ramped up their ever-present hatred for the Jews and became the champion and funding source for the PLO. They cranked up the rumor mill that if Israel gave up defensible territory, then terrorism would cease.
Thus was born the Oslo Accords, which, of course, failed tragically. The rumor continued: settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Middle East genie of terror would go back into its bottle.
Another rumor (more accurate this time) is that President George Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are starting to recognize that Mahmoud Abbas (a.k.a. Abu Mazen) cannot deliver the dismantling and disarming of the terror structures and organizations - so they are backing off somewhat. Bush needs the Israel-PLO deal politically and the Europeans are pressing hard. In other words, it is irrelevant if Abu Mazen delivers, as long as Israel bites the bullet. Lots of egos to stroke, lots of hatreds to placate, and it makes no difference if Ariel Sharon falls, if Israel falls, or if it takes a lot of casualties.
There is a lot more; but let's start by putting the rumor of peace between Israel and the Arab Muslim Palestinians away, where it belongs.
US President George Bush, while in Brussels, echoed that rumor without really knowing or understanding the Middle East. "Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and Palestinian reform could give momentum to changes throughout the Middle East," he said.
I like dreams because you can make them anything you want. In this case, the dream has nothing to do with Israel. It has to do with many almost imponderables. I will list a few I know, but then, there are a lot no one knows.
First, we know that there are many terrorist leaders and organizations whose entire life's work has been dedicated to terrorizing. There is no other work for them. It is their chosen profession and they will not stop.
Then there are the mullahs, the imams, the ayatollahs whose dedication to Koranic law cannot allow what they call a nation of unbelievers (infidels) to exist - not only in the region, but on this planet. They will not stop unless defeated or unless all religions eventually submit to Islam and Shari'a law. This is something that is non-negotiable and will continue under Dar Al-Islam until it is accomplished. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is only one small facet of a clash of civilizations with which neither Europe nor America have come to grips - yet.
There is more. The leaders of Syria, Iran, Egypt and even the so-called new Iraq need an adversary so as to stay in power. Dictatorships are like that. Fear keeps people obedient, but even a fictitious outside threat (Israel) creates an impressive reason for suppression. They need Israel as they need to breathe. If the West's dream of imposing democracy or peace is through the elimination of Palestinian hostility to Israel, then, well, dream on.
There is more. The Arab Muslim culture rests on two pillars: pride and shame. They always knew that Europe and America were far more advanced than Arabia in almost all fields and they hated Western Civilization and the Judeo-Christian culture that supports it. The Muslims hated their inferiority because it insulted their pride. Then came the era of pricey oil and the West came crawling. It wasn't anything the Arab world had achieved, but it restored their vaunted pride.
Then came Israel, and the Arab Muslims had a chance to further elevate a pride they had not known since the Kurd Saladin bested the Christians in the 12th century. It was a long time to wait, but anticipating the coming battle with the Jews, whom they were certain to beat, was joyful.
But it didn't happen as they planned. In 1948, when Israel declared her independence as a Jewish State, six Arab armies attacked a rag-tag population of 600,000 Jews, many of them just off the boats from the death camps of Europe. They, the Arab armies, well-armed and some trained by the British, lost ignominiously and fled the battlefield.
Now, pride was lost, at least until it could be recovered in blood and battle. The Arabs lost all the subsequent wars they started and the need to win grew deeper, as did the shame. They gambled the land and their pride, and now they tell the world they deserve to have it back.
The rumor that settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will restore lost Arab pride and eliminate their shame is deliberately misleading. Shame can't be removed with paper agreements, it must be recovered in battle, which is why there will be no peace.
There is still more. The Europeans' century upon century of Jew-hating culminated in the German Nazi Holocaust. But it didn't end there. When oil became pricey and very needed, the Europeans wanted the Arab Muslims on their side, and that required sharing their hatred of the Jews. Despite a brief period of guilt, the Europeans ramped up their ever-present hatred for the Jews and became the champion and funding source for the PLO. They cranked up the rumor mill that if Israel gave up defensible territory, then terrorism would cease.
Thus was born the Oslo Accords, which, of course, failed tragically. The rumor continued: settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Middle East genie of terror would go back into its bottle.
Another rumor (more accurate this time) is that President George Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are starting to recognize that Mahmoud Abbas (a.k.a. Abu Mazen) cannot deliver the dismantling and disarming of the terror structures and organizations - so they are backing off somewhat. Bush needs the Israel-PLO deal politically and the Europeans are pressing hard. In other words, it is irrelevant if Abu Mazen delivers, as long as Israel bites the bullet. Lots of egos to stroke, lots of hatreds to placate, and it makes no difference if Ariel Sharon falls, if Israel falls, or if it takes a lot of casualties.
There is a lot more; but let's start by putting the rumor of peace between Israel and the Arab Muslim Palestinians away, where it belongs.