Israeli PMs Backtracking

Submitted by Peter J. Herz (Taiwan), Jun 29, 2004 at 08:29

Ever since its founding--indeed, since the birth of the Zionist movement--Israelis and their pre-independence Zionist forebears have hoped to get recognition and peace treaties with the neighboring Arab states. It is the Zionist holy grail, perhaps, but a central consideration that probably guides any Israeli premier. The fact that successive US Presidents have also hoped for an end to Israeli-Arab hostilities may tempt even a normally bellicose Netanyahu or Sharon to think that the holy grail will be had. My own guess is that most Israelis, leaders or not, who cannot hope for such scenarios are probably thinking of emigrating, too.

Besides, as a student of the Bible, I can't help but note that Jews have been world-class hopers for a very, very long time.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".