Jobs are ideologically neutral. People need to work, and this is a universal need. Therefore, at a time when there are so many ideological obstacles which keep us apart, we need something, like jobs, which would help us break the impasse we’re in, and which will point us in the right direction. Even though jobs are ideologically neutral, they can be used to create a new reality on the ground. I am fond of saying that business creates its own ideological imperative. Once people are making money together, they have little time or patience for ideological nonsense. Once people are earning a living, and creating a better life for themselves, they will fight anyone who would take that life away.

For countries like Saudi Arabia, or Egypt, or Jorday, or even Palestine, or almost any Arab country, job creation and eocnomic development represent a practical way of moving forward, and breaking the chains of ideological extremism.

I am trying to create an actual project on the ground which would respresent the idea of Selling a Vision of Hope. I want to build a factory in the West Bank, which uses Israeli nanotechnology research, and Palestinian workers and managers, to create a green energy product of some special significance. Saudi financing would be the icing on the cake and would say to the world that oil profits are being used to create green profits, and that good paying jobs are being used to neutralize the hold of extremist thinking. A project of this sort would attract a lot of worldwide attention, and a lot of additional investment dollars. What begins as a single solitary project could well end us as a movement for change.

I would be happy to work with anyone who would like to make such a project happen. At first it may seem impossible. But as I like to say, considering the alternative, this may well be the time, before time runs out, to dream the impossible, and to make the impossible come true.

As I said before, Israel wants peace, but needs security even more. A nuclear Iran, together with an ideological Iran, is a very dangerous mix. For Israel, the possibility of a nuclear Iran, given her ideological mindset, poses an existential risk which Israel may not be able to take. And the funny thing is that other nations in the Middle East, and beyond, are beginning to feel the same way. I don’t really think that Egypt, or Saudi Arabia, or Jordan, etc. would be particularly comfortable with Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons.

For Iran, the development of nuclear weapons is seen as indispensable on many levels. It is a source of national pride. It is seen as a counter to a nuclear Israel, and a nuclear West. It is a safeguard against outside interference. It is a way of consolidating political power in the region. And for some, it is seen as the playing out of a collective national destiny that has been foretold in holy scripture.

How will Iran be able to walk away from nuclear weapons when so much is at stake? How will Israel and other nations be willing to take the risk that is implicit in a nuclear Iran?

And so, like you say Mohammed, the risk of conflict between these two nations is increasing by the minute. And like Esra’a says, both nations have their respective agendas. And where do the rest of us stand? The risks that are inherent in military conflict are the same risks that are borne by all of us. It is tempting sometimes just to let things play themselves out, as if those things won’t really affect us. But when it comes to nuclear weapons, whatever happens way out there, will come to haunt us here at home.

It is possible to avert a crisis of this sort. But it will require a coming together on a scale never seen before. We will have to let go of some of what we believe, in favor of what makes sense, in favor of something we can believe in even more, like peace. We will have to invest in one another to create jobs which grow our economies, which protect our environment, and which help to neutralize the hold of extremist thinking. We will have to inspire one another with a vision of hope, a vision of peace, prosperity, and freedom. We will have to sustain the hope with public diplomacy. And when necessary, and it will be necessary, we will have to fight against the forces of extremism, but also, we will have to position the fight within a Vision of Hope. We will raise the fight on the ground to a higher moral plain by giving the fight a moral clarity of purpose. People will fight harder once they know what they’re fighting for. We are not fighting a “war against terror.” We are fighting a war to realize a Vision of Hope. There’s a big difference.

However, taking into consideration everything I know about Israel, I would paint a different picture when it comes to Israel. I see Israel wearing two hats. On the one hand, Israel’s single greatest motivation is her security. Bottom line, Israel will do everything in her power to survive. Israel is the homeland of the Jews, and given Jewish history, the right to survive is not to be taken for granted. The mantra of the Jews, and of Israel by implication, is “never again.” And in defending herself, Israel would prefer to over-react than to seem weak, because in her mind, weakness spells her downfall. So, for example, if Israel was not victorious in 2006 in Lebanon, then she will over-react in Gaza, just to maintain her military credibility, because she considers this essential for her survival.

On the other hand, and based on everything I know about Israelis, I wholeheartedly believe that Israel wants and needs peace, and that under the right circumstances, she has in the past, and will in the future, make painful concessions for peace. She had the opportunity to make a cold peace with Egypt, and she jumped at the chance. And so too with Jordan. And when Barak and Clinton sat down with Arafat and offered a peace deal in the year 2000, I believe that the offer was made in good faith, and was close to meeting most of the Palestinian demands. And if I am informed correctly, a simlilar deal has been agreed to by Abbas, and Livni, but tabled for the moment.

So this is the duality that helps to explain Israel. She will fight fiercely for her security, but her ultimate security is peace, and she knows it, and she will fight for peace as well, under the right circumstances, circumstances which we can help bring about, and which may well be transpiring even as we speak.

I think that Israel and Iran have very different agendas. Iran wants to dominate the region. Israel wants to survive and thrive, but has no intentions to impose her religion on the region, or to foist upon the region an extemist ideological mindset. However, until peace comes, and God-willing it will come soon, Israel will act to secure herself, even if some of those actions will look like extremism to the rest of the world.

It is very difficult to influence what Iran does, because Iran has her agenda, and a good part of that agenda is ideological. They want to dominate the region, and they want to do so ideologically.

The same thing can be said about Israel, in my opinion, so this argument is hardly a convincing one. Iran is far from the only government that has an agenda. Find me a single government that doesn’t.

What we can do is to create jobs. This is in our power, including the U.S., the Western world, and Israel as well. If you create good paying jobs, you will have created a new reality on the ground, a reality which will influence everything else. Business creates its own ideological imperative. Once people are making money, and providing for their families, they have no patience for ideological nonsense. Once people have a place at the table, a stake in their future, they would fight against anyone who would take that future away.

By empowering the man on the street, with good paying jobs, we will automatically send the message to the extremists that a new day has dawned. With a little bit of luck, we may actually convince some of the extremists to rely on legitimate means for consolidating political power, as opposed to illegitimate means like terror. Let Hamas and Fatah compete with each other about who can create more jobs, and let the people decide who should rule. I think that this is probably the only way to peace.