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Place Onus for Peace Where It Belongs - on Palestinians

[Philadelphia Jewish Exponent] David A. Harris - Israel faces an unprecedented security environment - obvious threats from Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and Iran. The vast majority of Israelis desperately yearn for peace and would support a deal tomorrow with the Palestinians (and Syrians), entailing major territorial concessions, if they believed such an accord were possible - and durable. If anyone believes the Israeli government is hesitant to make peace, then we're living on different planets. It speaks openly of a two-state settlement, discusses the most sensitive issues with its Palestinian counterparts and acknowledges the suffering that Palestinians have endured without a state of their own. In Gaza, Israel has shown remarkable restraint in the face of endless provocation. I don't know of many other nations that would have endured daily barrages without a robust military response. The real reasons for the absence of peace lie elsewhere. Too many in the Arab world have been fed a steady diet of Israel as an illegitimate nation, a colonial project of the West that must be eliminated. To make matters worse, Israel has damaged the self-image and self-respect of the Arab world by refusing to be defeated in battle. How can it be that this tiny nation, deprived of any significant natural resources, has withstood the Arab onslaught for six decades and emerged not only as the strongest military power in the region, but also the most politically and economically advanced? The writer is executive director of the American Jewish Committee.
2008-09-18 01:00:00
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