| ”Föregående: Födslorätt Palestina | Därefter: Eugene Rostow och UN-upplösning 242 ”, |
Ändringar i den arabiska världen?
30 maj 2008Det finns två som realiteten lappar av nyheterna i dag från den arabiska världen, som ger oss resonerar för att le. En är om Houda Nonoo, en judisk bahrainare, som har varit bestämd vid konungHamad Isa al-Khalifa som landets ambassadör till Förenta staterna. Även om Bahrain ska ansedd vara dämpar ganska cirklar in, är det stilla trevligt att höra att de är villiga att ge ett kvinnligt och, en jude (i detta fall, den samma personen) som ett prestigefullt postar. Se för mer information Jerusalem postar.
En annan berättelse i Jerusalem postar måste att göra med arabiska reaktioner till rapporter om det israeliska premiärminister försök för Ehud Olmerts korruption för häleri $150.000 kontant över 14 år. While it is clear that some of the posters don’t like Israel, it seems as though most of them respect the fact that Israel’s justice system works even against elected representatives in the highest positions of power. Some are even critical of Ehud Olmert for taking so little money! Many responders laud Israel as an example that Arab countries should use, as it’s clear that the Arabs realize the corruption that occurs in their countries. Comments include:
- “the reason why Israel has lasted for so long is because of its independent and fair judicial system. I challenge the Arabs to have such an independent judicial system.”
- “Only a few thousand dollars? What a fool! This is what an Egyptian minister gets in a day or what a Saudi CEO gets in 45 minutes, or a Kuwaiti government official in five minutes. This is what the physician of the emir of Qatar gets every 30 seconds.”
- “Unfortunately, this is the real democracy. Our enemies are very good in practicing democracy. In the Arab world, our leaders steal everything and no one ever dares to ask a question.”
- “I swear Israel is a state that will succeed. They are prosecuting their prime minister because of tens of thousands of dollars. What about the millions of dollars that Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority stole? How come the Palestinian people are still hungry?”
Is the Arab world finally seeing the virtues of Israel? Do these sentiments reflect the consensus in the Arab world? Unlikely. But given the Arab world distaste for Israel, to put it lightly, the fact that these opinions are shared in public forums (albeit online) could be a step in the right direction. Perhaps it’s no reason to be overly optimistic, but it is a step in the right direction. Let’s hope justified criticisms of leadership in the Arab world, by Arabs, continues – it shows that people are waking up to the reality that Israel is not their enemy – their own leadership is.
