Why the Arab World Is Lost in an Emotional Nakba, and How We Keep It There

[Pete]

Why the Arab World Is Lost in an Emotional Nakba, and How We Keep It There

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news...motional-nakba

"...Instead, in a state of intense humiliation and impotence on the world stage, the Arab leadership chose denial—the Jews did not, could not, have not won. The war was not—could never—be over until victory. If the refugees from this Zionist aggression disappeared, absorbed by their brethren in the lands to which they fled, this would acknowledge the intolerable: that Israel had won. And so, driven by rage and denial, the Arab honor group redoubled the catastrophe of its own refugees: They made them suffer in camps, frozen in time at the moment of the humiliation, waiting and fighting to reverse that Zionist victory that could be acknowledged. ..."

An interesting read.

[BrokenSwitch]

This is why Israel needs to be allowed to deal with the problem without the US State Department tying her hands. Instead of negotiating with them, we should be kicking their asses... or sending them back to Tunisia (where the PLO was exiled after 1982).

[Trapper John]

Very thoughtful and well argued. Like most geopolitical conflicts it boils down to the clash of cultural values. The West always seems to ignore that factor and therefore the genesis of perpetual conflict.

From the summary we can conclude:

When we indulge Arab (and jihadi Muslims’) concerns for honor by backing off anything that they claim offends them, we think that our generosity and restraint will somehow move extremists to more rational behavior. Instead, we end up muzzling ourselves and thereby participating in, honoring, and confirming their most belligerent attitudes toward the “other.” They get to lead with their glass chin, while we, thinking we work for peace, end up confirming and weaponizing the Arab world’s most toxic weaknesses—their insecurity, their embrace of all-or-nothing conflicts, their addiction to revenge, their paranoid scapegoating, their shame-driven hatred. And there is nothing generous, rational, or progressive about that.

Great post Pete

[Flagg]

What value added has Arab/Muslim culture brought to the global table?

I see:

US/Euro/Asian/Israeli Communications/IT tech exported to the world

US/Euro/Asian/Israeli Healthcare tech exported to the world

US/Euro/Russian/Israeli Military tech exported to the world

US/Euro/Asian transportation tech exported to the world

The only things that seem to be exported from Arab/Muslim culture is NON-VALUE ADDED energy, figs, and chaos.

Maybe some shame directed internally at the fact that Arab/Muslim culture seems to have stopped exporting anything value added to the world since Math and Chemistry a millennium or so ago.

Attempts by militant fundamentalists to rationalise their cultural relevance ranking on the planet must be pretty tough driving around in Japanese cars, flying in US planes, using western communications tech based on the US created internet, kept alive by US healthcare technology.

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I see the key differences and explanations in comparing two roughly comparable city states.

Singapore and Dubai(Yup..I understand Dubai is not the same and part of the UAE, but go with it for a second)

Singapore had a world class harbour next to a malaria infested mangrove. And Singaporeans themselves turned it into a global commercial hub and truly world class city state with much to be proud of.

Dubai had a world class quantity of energy. And expats turned it into a global commercial hub. Locals are just the landlords sitting in Starbucks all day.

I see no Arab/Muslim macro cultural sense of urgency to be productive/creative like what has clearly occurred in places like Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, Israel, etc.

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The tragically dark comedic irony of Arab/Muslim in this quote:

So, when the Pope Benedict’s remark about an “inherently violent Islam” set off riots of protest throughout the Muslim world, the onus was on the pope to apologize for provoking them. Only thus could one spare Muslims global derision for randomly killing—killing to protest being called violent.

…pretty much says it all.