national interests demand that we extend our hands to the Arab nations that accept us, and act together with them for the rehabilitation of this region. That was true 59 years ago, and that will be true 59 years hence.
Little politicians like Olmert, Peretz and Halutz are unable to think in these terms.84 They can hardly see as far as the end of their noses. But where are the intellectuals, who should be more far-sighted?
Bashar al-Assad may not be one of the world's Great Thinkers. But his remark should certainly give us pause for thought.
October 7, 2006
Once, while traveling in a taxi, I had an argument with the driver-a profession associated in Israel with extreme right-wing views. I tried in vain to convince him of the desirability of peace with the Arabs. In our country, which has never seen a single day of peace in the last hundred years, peace can seem like something out of science fiction.
Suddenly I had an inspiration. "When we have peace," I said, "You can take your taxi in the morning and go to Damascus, have lunch there with real authentic hummus and come back home in the evening."
He jumped at the idea. "Wow," he exclaimed, "If that happens, I shall take you with me for nothing!"
"And I shall treat you to lunch," I responded.
He continued to dream. "If I could go to Damascus in my car, I could drive on from there all the way to Paris!"
Bashar al-Assad has done it again. He has succeeded in confusing the Israeli government.
As long as he voices the ritual threat to liberate the Golan Heights by force, it does not upset anybody. After all, that only confirms what many want to hear: that there is no way to have peace with Syria, that sooner or later we shall have a war with them.
Why is that good? Simple: peace with Syria would mean giving back the Golan Heights (Syrian territory by any definition). No peace, no need to give them back.
But when Bashar starts to talk peace, we are in trouble. That is a sinister plot. It may, God forbid, create a situation that would compel us to return the territory.
Therefore, we should not even speak about it. The news must be buried in some remote corner of the papers and at the end of the news on TV, as just "another speech of Assad." The government rejects them "on the threshold," adding that it cannot even be discussed until ...