IMRA Weekly Commentary..
17 October '13..
The common shift from the “Arab-Israeli conflict” to the “Palestinian-Israeli conflict” label reflects just how complicated and confusing the region has become.
On the one hand, on what one might term a "core" religious level, our Moslem neighbors have a problem with the existence of a Jewish state in an area that was conquered by Moslem invaders as their religion holds that once Islam seizes a chunk of geography it becomes Moslem territory in perpetuity.
On the other hand, many of our Moslem neighbors have immediate concerns - for example fear of Iran - which make them our natural allies.
One might argue that our region is particularly adept at accommodating differences between core beliefs and immediate interest thanks to what might be termed a dramatically longer time reference than is typical to Western culture.
Simply put, alliances and cooperation with the Jewish State are possible today because the faith-based goal of eradicating that same Jewish State can be postponed for generations if conditions require such patience.
That is not to say that Israel has to be any less diligent in maintaining its ability to defend itself from its neighbors. This is no place to be weak and continues be so. Just as conditions today make us allies in many
respects with the Saudis and the Gulf states - and even with Egypt and Jordan - that in no way guarantees that circumstances having nothing to do with Israel could cause one of the "semi-allies" or even a group of them to wage war against the Jewish State.
The shift from the "Arab-Israeli conflict" to the "Palestinian-Israeli conflict" label should however send an important message to Western policy makers.
Our region is boiling over with challenges and problems. Challenges and problems that are so huge and critical that as far as the region is concerned, resolving the "Palestinian-Israeli conflict" isn't even on the first page of the "do list".
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