Opportunity and Opportunity Cost
There is an op-ed on the JTA this week about taking an opportunity when it presents itself. In this case it is addressing the Arab League’s proposal to end the Israeli Palestinian crisis. Now I for one am completely in favor of the end of this situation that leads to a two state democratic solution. Yet lets be honest, it isn’t happening for a while.
This op-ed is interesting because it looks at the Middle East as rational business transaction. Anyone who has studied the region knows that there are many factors at play during any one situation, and simple cost-benefits are complicated by long standing and often convoluted struggles for power.
But the one thing that makes the most sense that is presented in this piece is that the State Actors in the Middle East have as much to lose by not creating peace and addressing the internal issues that drive people to extremist points of view. No one likes to lose power, so perhaps the time has come for the State Actors to act in support of their own power.
