| SimoHurtta | Information Technology | Finland |
Re: ‘Syria's Occupied Golan Heights’
Now, 40 years after a successful war, but also after 40 years of occupation and numerous conflicts, your country is at a crossroads. Either you can continue the policy of the last decades, or begin a real serious process to build a lasting peace with the Palestinians and your other neighbours. Despite of the speeches of Israeli politicians, Israel has not been the active partner in building trust and peace. The fact is that all attempts for peace have been started by outside pressure and Israel has been the party who has been dragging her feet.
Jews have a reputation of being good with numbers. It is impossible in the modern world for a nation with 5 million first class citizens and two million second class citizens to dominate an entire region for a long period of time. Can Israel seriously believe that a few million Jews could dominate militarily hundreds of millions of Muslims and Christians for the next forty years? It is as unrealistic as Denmark being the dominant power of Europe for 100 years.
Many Israelis still seem to think that they can compensate the numbers with a superior military might and an exclusive right to nuclear weapons. The teachings of recent wars in Lebanon and Iraq, however, should make Israelis less considerably self-confident. High tech armies seem to be far less superior than some politicians and the weapon industry want us to believe. Israel can certainly still continue its policy based on USA guarantied military superiority for some years, but eventually that present policy is doomed. The next major war will be very costly to Israel and would severely hurt the normal citizen’s sense of security. This could lead to a massive exodus when the people would put their second passport in use and move to more secure and peaceful surroundings.
Israel is having serious public relations difficulties and the situation is getting worse. She is already seen by most of the world as an apartheid country and the Holocaust card is almost expired. The amount of people who still see Israel as a little, weak and courageous nation is shrinking fast. On the other hand, the number of people who see Israel as a little, overaggressive and expansive apartheid nation is growing. Mentioning suicide bombers, anti-Semitism and the Holocaust can no longer shift the focus from the Palestinian suffering. More and more people have begun to realize that bad treatment creates terrorism and extremism.
Israelis are very self-satisfied with their economy and have a tendency of undermining the other side’s achievements. But the reality is now changing rapidly. After the oil crises in the 70’s, Arab countries used their colossal incomes to invest in the west and in a rather needless arms race. But nowadays, when oil and gas are becoming more competitive and rarer by the day, Arab countries have realized it is better to invest in their own region than recycle the petrodollars back to western assets. These fast emerging and lucrative markets certainly force western economies to readjust their policies by the sheer gravity of numbers. Big markets with high purchasing power are more important that a tiny nation. If the Arab nations force the West, to choose the outcome is evident. In business it is the numbers that matter.
That is also true in other sectors, and Israelis should understand that. The fact is that Israel in the long run needs peace with neighbours more than Arab countries do. Israel is not essential for the region’s future economic development and she has very little to offer to the region what can’t be bought elsewhere.
It is time for you to choose the right path to a better future.
(11 votes, average: 3.45 out of 5)
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