ISRAEL NEEDS NEW POLICIES

Israel needs radically new policies toward the ArabsBy Yaron Ezrahi and Ariel Ezrahi

In the long run Israel will not be able to live peacefully in the Middle East if it continues to regard itself, and be regarded by its neighbors, as a spearhead of the Western struggle against violent Islamic forces. Whereas shortly after September 11, 2001, this struggle focused on militant Islam, outraged by terrorist acts the leaders of the West and of Israel have become less and less discriminating between violent and moderate Islam.When Israel is perceived as a Western outpost in the heart of a largely Muslim region, when the conflict between the West and radical Islam takes global dimensions, it is even more unwise and dangerous for Israel to place itself and its youth in the front line of this war. The latest war in Lebanon demonstrated again that Israel's vulnerability does not reside in the strength of its not-so-large army. Israel's weakness lies in its extreme sensitivity to the loss of life of even a few soldiers and citizens.

Despite the domestic criticism of the decision in the last war to choose the strategy of massive air strikes over ground attack, a choice which dramatically increased casualties on the Lebanese side, it was heavily influenced by the desire to spare the life of Israeli soldiers. This concern overpowers the desire of Israeli right-wing leaders to put Israeli youths in the front line in the global conflict against radical Islam.

The Israeli Army should of course prepare itself for the worst-case scenarios. But a wise Israeli leadership thinking about Israel's long-term future in the Middle East should consider a radical break with past policies in the conflict. Instead of just preparing for the next round it is time to focus on sharply reducing the other side's motives to attack. For decades Israeli leaders have refused to dismantle settlements and end the occupation, the main trigger of Muslim hostility.

They eagerly assumed the role of spokespersons for the free world in the Middle East, repeating provocative slogans like our mission against 'the axis of evil, or echoing condescending Western references to primitive Islamic civilization while broadcasting their support for imposing Western -style liberal democracy on Muslim societies. These attitudes and Israel's policies have put it on a collision course with the entire Islamic world.

Adding insult to injury Israeli leaders have arrogantly used their country's relative economic strength to declare their intention to create a new economically and technologically modernized Middle East, drastically changing the way of live of Israel's neighbors (for their sake, of course), without asking them for a mandate. On top of that, for decades Israel has given televisions in the Middle East the excuse to broadcast pictures of Israeli border guards harassing and humiliating Palestinian children and women at checkpoints, killing civilians in the course of hunting terrorists, blowing up houses, and cutting villages by erecting security walls. The anguish over Israel's responsibility for such deeds and the moral criticism of that Israelis have against their own government should not distract them from realizing that they have done an excellent job in providing radical Muslims with powerful visual support for their efforts to demonize Israel as an evil anti-Muslim Jewish state.This has facilitated their efforts to undermine pragmatic attempts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict by redefining this regional conflict in global religious terms.http://www.dailystar.com.lb

Especially following the inconclusive Lebanon war, it is time for Israel to consider a courageous turn in its general orientation and policy toward the Middle East. The Iraqi Scud missiles over Tel Aviv, the Qassam missiles over southern Israel, and now the 4,000 Iranian- and Syrian-made rockets Hizbullah launched over northern Israel, should not teach Israel to abandon diplomacy backed by deterrence. But they can help convince Israelis to try adopting a radically new course of action.Especially now when the Muslim world feels humiliated, when a moderate majority of Muslims is paying a heavy price for the terror of a minority of violent fundamentalists, Israel could exploit its special position as a society consisting of Eastern and Western Jews as well as a large Muslim minority. It is a society with equal cultural and historical bonds to East and West, allowing it to serve as a bridge between the two worlds, rather than as a Western front against the Muslim world. The challenge Israel must face is not how loud can its voice be in the Western choir President George W. Bush has been trying to conduct, but how to develop an authentic Middle Eastern voice drawing on its roots in the two traditions.

Israel can also strive for mutually beneficial regional economic cooperation. A national Israeli commitment to reviving the Dead Sea-Red Sea canal project involving Palestinians, Jordanians, and Israelis would be a sign of the new orientation. Another would be a vigorous revival of the instruction of Arabic language in Israeli schools as a requirement, which would be helpful in raising new generations of Israelis more capable of appreciating, and participating in, the great richness of their neighbors civilization. Such an Israel will also be a better ally of the United States and a more helpful partner in changing counterproductive Western policies in the Middle East.

Yaron Ezrahi, a senior fellow emeritus at the Israel Democracy Institute, serves as an international political consultant. Ariel Ezrahi is an international lawyer based in London. THE DAILY STAR publishes this commentary in collaboration with the Common Ground News Service.