Middle East: Peace or war?
Recent warnings by the King of Jordan that war is inevitable in the next 12-24 months unless something is done regarding the Palestinian issue, is indeed a grave concern considering that we are currently in a global economic downturn. Any major conflict in the Middle East will push up the price of oil and will subsequently affect all economic activities directly and indirectly relying on it.
Perhaps Israel should start considering the two state proposal by the international community. No, they actually should consider it. The present generation of Israelites have strayed far beyond their roots, conveniently forgetting the lessons from the Diaspora and Holocaust.
“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.” [Exodus 23: 9]
“When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt…” Leviticus 19:33-34
I am not saying that Israel should just acceed to the two-state solution without question, they should consider a carrot-stick approach. The creation of the Palestinian state should be contingent on conditions that will ensure the safety and survival of Israel and her citizens. For the Arabs, they should quit their inflammatory rhetoric and implicit support of terrorist acts for this to work.