I recently viewed a Middle-East Peace conference hosted by the Middle-East Press Club.
The speakers were prominent Israelis, Israeli-Arabs and Fatah functionaries.
Of course the conference doesn't take place in a vacuum.
It is another step on the road of a quest for peace or victory or what have you.
Whether one has a "dog in the fight" on this issue, or not, some fundamentals are not really arguable.
At the conference, the Israel-Arab Deputy Speaker of the Knesset said he would never accept a Jewish state of Israel.
Of course, if Israel is not a Jewish state, it will eventually be a Muslim state.
The Israeli speakers took the stage with pained, but open expressions.
They were reasonable, they expressed sadness mixed with hope, and you could see their sincerity and compassion.
You could also see a trace, at least, of bewilderment.
Israelis know and expressed at the conference the offers they have made in the past to the Arab community known as Palestinians.
The Israelis have offered every deal short of agreeing to be dismantled as a State, albeit a very tiny state doomed for at least some time to be surrounded by hostile Arab Neighbors with bad intentions.
Israel is the only Democracy on the Arabian Peninsula.
Jews have enriched the lives of Arab-Israelis.
Even the Palestinians in the West Bank are improving their lot in life in comparison with their brethren in Arab controlled countries.
Palestinian women in the west bank are not required to wear the Burka or ha-jib.
This is almost unprecedented in the Arab world.
The world has always held that Israel is entitled to be a State.
Even the Arabs have vaguely agreed to the concept in some venues.
Israel is a tiny, tiny, little speck on the Map of the Arabian Peninsula.
Israel, when not successfully demonized, is a beacon of civilization in a land mass where many of the leaders express a desire to return to the good old days of the 8th Century.
Israel deserves our support.
No comments:
Post a Comment