Ami,
The disarmament I suggest relates to nuclear weapons. I am not so unrealistic to think the neighborhood is not a dangerous one for Israel and they should be left naked against those that find its policies and behavior intolerable. The UN Charter allows for self-defense.
“Israel has never expressed the will to destroy another people’s right to self-government.” I am not sure the Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank would agree with this statement.
“…to de-Jew the Jewish state…” I don’t see that. The one state proposal lets Jews be Jews and Palestinians be Palestinians. I see Arab and Persian efforts aimed at Zionist independence, not Jewish. Peaceful co-existence, as in your examples, should be the goal.
I also see historical disputes…ethnic cleansing of Babylonians or Caananites, or American Indians for that matter, as answered largely by education. If everyone passionately held to centuries old hostilities we would be a much, much darker world for it. That holds for the destruction of sites. There are no excuses and no good answers.
I also believe the much trumpeted “Holocaust denial” sin Iran is accused of is mis-represented. Moderates have said Ahmadinejad’s comments are not reflective of the thoughts of the population at large. The historical record is undeniable, according to them. If Israel relies on the historical record to cover a multitude of other sins, it is a misuse of the record, and dishonors its dead.
My reference to the age of the Iranian population is not an endorsement of a “Youth Movement.” The CIA World Fact Book puts the average age of Iranians at about 25. As I stated above, it is inevitable that change will happen in Iran simply because they do not hold the Iranian revolution in the same manner as the mullahs. Economic, and social forces are much more likely to drive Iranian society toward moderation, in the absense of a wrongheaded invasion by either Israel or the US.
Recent history suggests, from pre-emptive attacks on neighboring states, that the advantage at this point in time is with Israel. How many billions in US military aid goes to Israel yearly? I still don’t see how you support the claim Israel would be “hundreds of times” more likely to be attacked. What is your evidence? On what do you base that claim? Recent history, or even not so recent history? For Iran to attack Israel would result in a very severe retaliatory attack. Why would Iran do that? Defies logic.
