Wednesday, February 23, 2011

It Is Israel's Fault!

Over the last several weeks, we have been privileged to watch what happens when despots keep their citizens living with no freedom whatsoever. There comes a point when people realize that they do not have to suffer oppression. It started in Tunisia. It went to Egypt. Libya is exploding. I cannot help but cheer the Libyan people in particular. They are brave and resilient.

Over the last couple of years, many have tried to convince us that if the problems between the Israelis and the Palestinians could just find a solution, all of the other challenges in the region would simply disappear. More recently, numerous commentators have noted the folly of that belief. They have told us that the protestors in these nations have not declared that Israel is the problem. One retired Saudi military officer even went so far as to say that Israel did not put away the billions of dollars stolen from the nations in question.

I am offended. I believe that the goings-on in the Middle East are entirely Israel's fault. Israel does not suppress its internet. Israel does not restrict its press. The IDF answers to civilian authority. The judiciary is respected around the world, and has recently brought down a president. The results of the next Knesset elections are not known well in advance, and are not decreed from God. Wealth is not restricted to the hands of a few. The citizens of Israel's neighbours know this. They know that a vibrant society in which people have opportunity can exist in the region. Israel places that reality squarely in everyone's face.

It is nothing more than a continuation of the double standard from which Israel constantly suffers to deny Israel's role in bringing about the end of megalomaniac theocrats.

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