>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Doug Henwood" <dhenwood at panix.com>
>
>
>joanna wrote:
>>Completely agree with you Doug. The fundamental Israeli nationalism
>>rests on a claim of "blood" NOT religion and is a witness to its
>>noxious 19 C. roots. And the lack of a common culture was a huge
>>problem with the founding of Israel and continues to be a problem.
>
>-I like Joel Schalit's point that without constant war, Israel would
>-probably fall apart from its own internal divisions.
>
>Now that's silly-- I visited Israel in 1999, the most "normal" election
>possible when everyone thought a peace deal was in the bag. Yes, the
>country was politically divided in five different dimensions, but if
>anything many people feel that the global homogenization is flattening
>society. Remove the polarization over foreign policy and many divisions
>would disappear. In many ways, the success of Sharon's Kadima party was
>tapping into that desire.
Hmm, Joel spent a lot of his early years in Israel, has family that was once high up in the government, and studies the regime as an academic and journalist. Does your visit 7 years ago trump his experience?
Doug