I wrote on a few occasions that I thought the Israeli security fence/wall would ultimately be a good thing for the Palestinians because it would force them to look inward and… possibly, hopefully, truly, madly, deeply… resolve their hideous situation… or at least improve it.
Well, department of be-careful-what-you-wish-for, here we go. Now I, of course, have no idea where this is headed… and I know some are skeptical, but I cannot help but think this is all inevitable and will finally be a positive. [You are an optimist.–ed.] We can only pray for a minimum of bloodshed. Still, we are at the beginning of a process that will take considerable time and undergo myriad swings. Too many people kept Arafat in office for too long for too many bad reasons. And the Palestinian people are of course themselves to blame for allowing their obsession with Israel to destroy their own culture.
Meanwhile, I have to admit I recoiled when Sharon opened his mouth and urged all French Jews to leave France for Israel. Besides the obvious lack of diplomatic subtlety in his remarks, I’m not sure that the answer to the rising anti-Semitism in France is to cut and run. I’d like to think it would be better to stay and fight to win the battle. [Would you like to live there?–ed. Well, in a great apartment in St. Germain around the corner from Pain Poilane…] Not surprisingly, Sharon’s aides are now saying that he was “misunderstood.”
UPDATE: Oops, now Arafat has fired his nephew Musa as security chief. Next?
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