Jerusalem Conference

The Middle East is one of the key regions of the globe, both in terms of economics and politics. Perhaps no country in this region is more crucial to the future stability of the world than Israel. It is also one of the most controversial nations on Earth. No matter where you go, people have strong opinions about Israel and its policies. While most people in the United States or many European countries would be unable to tell you much about the internal politics of Uruguay or Laos, they tend to be much better informed about what is happening in Israel.

While most nations would probably enjoy such attention from the rest of the world, this level of scrutiny can have its downside as well. Everything that happens in Israel is watched by the rest of the world and given a level of importance that is often unrealistic. » Read more..

I am a political moderate and I am in favor of an Israel that has one set of laws for everyone. It seems to me that Israel has become a nation which talks about Democracy more than it actually lives out that creed. The entire concept of a state where the Jews are superior in their rights to other religions and ethnicities seems more than a bit shaky morally, but at least it has a basis in legitimate concerns about the ability to sustain Israel and it’s majority of Jews. Too much of the settlements policy is just simply amoral and illogical. It makes no sense for the state of Israel to support the actions of people who are behaving like gangsters. The IDF has to behave as though it is a moral institution which treats other people as though they are in fact people. In fact that is their legal responsibility as an occupying power.

Allowing a bunch of thugs to fire guns at Palestinians on their own land and to vandalize and destroy their property without fear of punishment is simply moronic. Worse yet the state looks as though it is too weak to stand up for itself when it allows these same people to cower it with their terrorist tactics. You need to be able to police everyone in a country and not allow certain people to be victimized by others. The extremists are a real threat to the democratic state of Israel in my opinion. You simply can not be a nation of laws or a nation of ideals if you persist in turning a blind eye to this sort of inhumane treatment of the Palestinians. We need to deal with the Arabs as though they have the right to exist if we expect the same from them.