Source: NY Times:
LONDON — Hearing an Indian official talk the other day about Delhi’s booming arms trade and ever-closer relationship with Israel, I had a thought that also struck me while listening to Israeli businessmen in Beijing. The idea may be summed up in three words: It is sustainable.
“Pivot to Asia” is a term that might be applied to Israel. Its trade with China has boomed, reaching more than $8 billion in 2013 from a pittance when diplomatic relations were established in 1992 (the same year as with India). Europe huffs and puffs about the West Bank settlements; Asia does business. India has already bought sea-to-sea missiles, radar for a missile-intercept system and communications equipment from Israel.
Tel Aviv, one of the world’s most attractive cities, has a boom-time purr about it. For all the talk of its isolation — and all the efforts of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (B.D.S.) movement — Israel has an economy as creative as it is successful. Yes, it is sustainable.
Behind its barriers and wall, backed by military might, certain of more or less unswerving American support, technologically innovative and democratically stable, Israel has the power to prolong indefinitely its occupation of the West Bank and its dominion over several million Palestinians. The Jewish state has grown steadily stronger in relation to the Palestinians since 1948. There is no reason to believe this trend will ever be reversed. Holding onto all the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, while continuing to prosper, is feasible. This, after all, is what Israel has already done for almost a half-century.
Categories: Asia
sn’t it tragic for the Palestinians. It has to be.As long these so called Muslims keep mixing religion with state affairs the current tragic situation will prevail. There is a small tiny community in Haifa known as Ahmadi Muslims. For many decades they are enjoying the religious freedom and benefiting from booming Israeli economy. Why because the community does not mix the religion with state affairs. It is an example for all the Palestinian Muslims. However where religion is used for personal political ambitions nothing can improve. Take the example of Indian neighbour Pakistan. Its passport is valid for all the countries of the world except Israel. What is this. Isn’t it another nonsense on the name of religion. The author very rightly concluded
“It can only emerge when a majority on both sides believes, based on the facts, that painful compromise in the name of a better future is preferable to manageable conflict fed by the wounds of the past”. In true Islamic teachings it is called forget and forgive each other for better future.
Great article. At the signing of the peace accord between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin and the Palestinian Authority represented by its late President, Yasser Arafat, in America, Mr Yitzak Rabin said that enough blood had been spilled by both sides. He called for an end to it and drew attention to what transformation could take place in the region when Israel’s technology combined with Arab money.
Obviously that fell on deaf ears because the next thing that happened was the intifada.
As has been pointed out, people with vested interest are deliberately making the Palestinians vulnerable by manipulating them based on religion.
With Hamas now in the driver’s seat, the plight of the Palestinians will not end anytime soon. That is rather unfortunate.
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