(Gatestone Institute) Philip Carl Salzman - Peace is not possible in the Middle East because values and goals other than peace are more important to Middle Easterners. Loyalty to kin, clan, and cult are the cultural imperatives. Some prefer to attribute the problems of the Middle East to outsiders, such as Western imperialists, but it seems odd to suggest that the local inhabitants have no agency and no responsibility for their activities. Honor comes from winning. Having lost in a political struggle results in loss of honor. Losing is regarded as deeply humiliating. Only the prospects of a future victory and the regaining of honor drives people forward. An example is the Arab-Israel conflict, in the course of which the despised Jews repeatedly defeated the armies of Arab states. The only way to regain honor is to defeat and destroy Israel. This is why no agreement over land or boundaries will bring peace: peace does not restore honor. The writer is professor of anthropology at McGill University in Canada.
2017-10-19 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive