But after a while, it becomes hard to fool oneself. As much as we want to believe in greater glories, sooner or later we have to come to terms with reality, and reality bites. The Palestians know that Israel will cut a decent enough deal, but it will require some sacrifices on both sides, including letting go of some deeply held beliefs. Only then will common sense prevail, and only then will true justice triumph. I believe that most Palestinians and Israelis realize this, but will have to suffer the agony of convincing those who hold the validity of their beliefs above the welfare of their people.

Are you still over there, Ray?

On the Palestinian side, as we said, there are extremists who believe that it is to their advantage to perpetuate the conflict, as a means of consolidating power. There are also those whose sense of justice calls for the destruction of the state of Israel, and who place their need for that type of justice above the welfare of their people.

But to be fair, there are extremists in Israel as well. There are religious zealots who interpret the Bible to create a Jewish entitlement to all the land west of the Jordan River. And there are also Jews who view the political realities of the moment through the prism of an historical legacy of persecution. For these people, in light of 2000 years of Jewish suffering, culminating in the Holocaust, the conflict with the Palestinians, and with Arabs in general, poses an existential threat to Israel, and by implication , to the Jewish people.

And once you feel cornered, as these people do, you tend to over-react. So in your effort to defend against what you perceive as an existential threat, you over-react, and you transform yourself from a victim into an oppressor: by becoming an occupier, by maintaining checkpoints, by building a “fence,” by targeting assissinations, by detaining suspects, by demolishing houses, and by doing whatever you have to do in the name of security, the security you never had as a wandering Jew, and the security you will only have by defending your homeland.

So what’s the answer, Ray? Well, part of the answer is this website, where people like you and I can talk to one another. And part of the answer is to use ideology and investment to empower the vast numbers of Israelis and Palestinians who want to embrace the possiblity of peace.

It is time to place people ahead of beliefs. It is time to believe in what makes sense, instead of believing in what we want to believe. And it is time to believe that God put us on this good earth to live, not to kill, and not to die, before our time.

The truth is not an extrmist position. As Aristotle, Muhammad, and Maimonides discovered; the truth is ususally somewhere in the middle between two extremes. We owe it to ourselves and to our children to create a reality that embodies the truth, and that gives expression to the beauty that surrounds us, the beauty that can one day define who we are as a people.

thanks
Ray Hanania

Therefore, reasonable people like yourself, and like the majority of Palestinians, have to come up with a way to marginalize the extremists. My take on it involves 5 pieces, in an effort to Sell a Vision of Hope:

1. Create a new ideological framework based on common sense.

2. Invest in one another to create jobs.

3. Use Ideology and Investment to sell people on a Vision of Hope- a Vision of Peace, Prosperity, and Freedom.

4. Sustain the hope with some heavy duty Public Diplomacy, including Empowering Women.

5. And when you have to, fight, and fight hard, but position the fight within a Vision of Hope. Raise the fight on the ground to a higher moral plain by giving the fight a moral clarity of purpose.

I can’t be sure that it will work. But I think it just might. When a poor Palestinian looks at the table and sees only an ideology of hate and some charitable handouts, then that’s what he’s going to buy into, because that’s all there is. But when he looks at the table and sees an ideology that makes more sense, and a job waiting for him, then now there’s a choice, and I’d like to believe that 90% will choose a life, and will fight the extremists who would take that life away.

I am beginning to meet some people who actually have the wealth and power to pull something like this off. Whether they can be convinced is something else. But I think it’s worth a shot to at least try.

Secular palestinians will compromise. Islamicists will not compromise on dictatorial religious faith. One problem is the industry of activism. When the conflict ends, there will be a lot of people out of jobs, including those who, fromt he comforts of their Western homes, yell that Palestinians should remain in refugee camps.

There is no compromise with Hamas. It is a minority group that dominates the majority through the exploitation of the majority’s suffering and failed achievement of their goals. Economic prosperity is not the answer by itself. A person must have a sense of genuine freedom to truly appreciate the benefits of economic success.

just my two dirhams (Dubai money)

Ray Hanania

Israel could help to bring justice by helping to revitalize the economy of a Palestinian State. That will create the kind of justice that Palestinians deserve.

You say that we can’t negotiate with Hamas. Well, here’s another idea. What if we invest heavily in the economic viability of the West Bank. Not in payoffs, but in jobs. Soon enough, the people in Gaza may see what’s happening in the West Bank, and say to Hamas, “Hey, where’s our share?” They are in a better position to sqeeze Hamas than anyone else. When Israel fights Hamas, they augment their power through martyrdom. But when the local population comes to the conclusion that Hamas is holding them back from a better life, then they will become marginalized in the eyes of their own people, and their power will diminish accordingly. The extremists will not be able to capture the public’s imagination, once people begin to imagine a better life for themselves. The West is well advised to put that alternative on the table.