"it was religious Jews who were best positioned to make peace with the Palestinians and the Muslim world generally"
Yes, that is quite interesting. Well done Alan, I'd never considered that angle. Now if only he hadn't been a settler.
If I understand it, the challenge is not so much making peace between Jewish and Palestinian citizens. My guess is that most of them on both sides are tired enough of war that they could come to some kind of compromise. The problem seems to be that Palestinian citizens don't actually have a say in the matter, as is true in every Arab country.
Yes, it’s true that Palestinians have been repeatedly betrayed by their “leaders.” But it’s not difficult to imagine a democratically elected government that still wanted to destroy Israel. The problem isn’t the form of government as much as the content of the Story. If Mohammed bin Salman stood up in public, embraced Isaac Herzog (President of Israel), and said: “You’ve been gone for 2000 years. Welcome home, brother" — everything could change overnight.
Yes, a democratically elected Palestine might still want to destroy Israel, that does seem possible. But such a state is unlikely to happen.
The form of government matters because, in the Arab world, he who has the most guns leads. You know, a Palestinian state would be taken over by the most ruthless Palestinians, just as Hamas won over the PLO. And so how the average Palestinian feels doesn't really matter.
And you know, Isaac Herzog could say to Mohammed bin Salman...
"We've been gone for 2,000 years. This is your home now. Enjoy it! We're rich, we're smart, we're very capable, we'll find another spot."
To contradict the theme of your article, we might reason that there was nothing logical about oppressed Jews seeking peace and security in a region dominated by psychopathic despots. Wasn't it the religious angle that resulted in the choice of the Middle East?
P.S. Imagine if, at the end of the movie Field of Dreams, Ray has built the field so they will come… but the climactic scene / game takes place not in Ray’s backyard, adjacent to the corn fields, but on the baseball diamond at Cedar Rapids High School. The Story kinda falls apart, don’t you think?
How would you feel about a place that's as big as California geographically, but with an existing population of only about 45,000, most of whom live in one small town?
On one border there's the world's oldest superpower, Israel's oldest and most committed friend. On the other border is one of the sanest and most peaceful countries in the world.
No psychopath despots. No religious extremist terrorists. No gun waving fanatics dreaming of glory in the after life based on the body count they can generate. No vast masses of oppressed neighbors who will always resent Jews for being smarter and more successful than they are. About as far from Iran as you can get.
The above is a true story. It's real, it's exists. A little puzzle for you! :-)
Peace, freedom and security awaits those who want it more than a particular piece of land. Where there's a will, there's a way.
This post is another in Tanny Media's vast collection of stories about crazy old man shit that will never happen. :-)
I know Rav Froman might seem Pollyannish given what’s happening right now. And I’m aware that many of the victims on October 7 were peace activists. But when this current conflagration ends, the Palestinians will still be with us. So will the Islamic world. I’m fascinated by Froman because he framed the struggle in terms that offer some possibility of a peaceful resolution. Green lines are about real estate; Isaac & Ishmael are about family. And family is forever.
I first read about Rav Froman 20 years ago in Marc Gopin’s book, Holy War, Holy Peace: How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East. A wise man. (Gopin, too.)
"it was religious Jews who were best positioned to make peace with the Palestinians and the Muslim world generally"
Yes, that is quite interesting. Well done Alan, I'd never considered that angle. Now if only he hadn't been a settler.
If I understand it, the challenge is not so much making peace between Jewish and Palestinian citizens. My guess is that most of them on both sides are tired enough of war that they could come to some kind of compromise. The problem seems to be that Palestinian citizens don't actually have a say in the matter, as is true in every Arab country.
Yes, it’s true that Palestinians have been repeatedly betrayed by their “leaders.” But it’s not difficult to imagine a democratically elected government that still wanted to destroy Israel. The problem isn’t the form of government as much as the content of the Story. If Mohammed bin Salman stood up in public, embraced Isaac Herzog (President of Israel), and said: “You’ve been gone for 2000 years. Welcome home, brother" — everything could change overnight.
Yes, a democratically elected Palestine might still want to destroy Israel, that does seem possible. But such a state is unlikely to happen.
The form of government matters because, in the Arab world, he who has the most guns leads. You know, a Palestinian state would be taken over by the most ruthless Palestinians, just as Hamas won over the PLO. And so how the average Palestinian feels doesn't really matter.
And you know, Isaac Herzog could say to Mohammed bin Salman...
"We've been gone for 2,000 years. This is your home now. Enjoy it! We're rich, we're smart, we're very capable, we'll find another spot."
To contradict the theme of your article, we might reason that there was nothing logical about oppressed Jews seeking peace and security in a region dominated by psychopathic despots. Wasn't it the religious angle that resulted in the choice of the Middle East?
Yes, of course re: “religious angle.”
But “we’ll find another spot”?? 😂 Let me know when you discover it!
P.S. Imagine if, at the end of the movie Field of Dreams, Ray has built the field so they will come… but the climactic scene / game takes place not in Ray’s backyard, adjacent to the corn fields, but on the baseball diamond at Cedar Rapids High School. The Story kinda falls apart, don’t you think?
Well sure, happy to help. :-)
How would you feel about a place that's as big as California geographically, but with an existing population of only about 45,000, most of whom live in one small town?
On one border there's the world's oldest superpower, Israel's oldest and most committed friend. On the other border is one of the sanest and most peaceful countries in the world.
No psychopath despots. No religious extremist terrorists. No gun waving fanatics dreaming of glory in the after life based on the body count they can generate. No vast masses of oppressed neighbors who will always resent Jews for being smarter and more successful than they are. About as far from Iran as you can get.
The above is a true story. It's real, it's exists. A little puzzle for you! :-)
Peace, freedom and security awaits those who want it more than a particular piece of land. Where there's a will, there's a way.
This post is another in Tanny Media's vast collection of stories about crazy old man shit that will never happen. :-)
Ararat City, on Grand Island in the Niagara River?
Nope, never mind. You say “big as California”. I think part of Alaska was proposed at one point.
It is inspiring but … Gaza envelop was populated by peace loving people…
I know Rav Froman might seem Pollyannish given what’s happening right now. And I’m aware that many of the victims on October 7 were peace activists. But when this current conflagration ends, the Palestinians will still be with us. So will the Islamic world. I’m fascinated by Froman because he framed the struggle in terms that offer some possibility of a peaceful resolution. Green lines are about real estate; Isaac & Ishmael are about family. And family is forever.
Fascinating!
I first read about Rav Froman 20 years ago in Marc Gopin’s book, Holy War, Holy Peace: How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East. A wise man. (Gopin, too.)