_______________SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME BY JONATHAN BRODER (11/19/97)

Are we to seriously believe that the resolution of the Palestinian problem in Israel will solve the troubles of the Arab world? Before the massacre at Queen Hatshepsut's Tomb, Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt seemed to be weakening, with at least one faction looking for a cease-fire. Hopes for this have surely been dented as the perpetrators of the massacre no doubt intended. President Mubarak has little choice but to respond to terrorism with state violence. But this can only breed more resentment and violence. Israel's position as an oasis of tranquillity in such a dangerous region will only be further reinforced. There needs to be some mechanism of democracy (and liberal constitutionalism) that makes regimes more answerable to the people they purport to represent. Only then will Arab acceptance of Israel be fully legitimized. More importantly, the regimes will be forced to provide their subjects with a level of prosperity and justice - instead of blaming Israel for their deficiencies. Only then can Islamic countries become secularized and provide the stability that is so badly needed. Blaming Netanyahu for all Middle Eastern woe is wrongheaded and myopic -- even if the state of Israel was wiped off the face of the Earth (as many of these regimes would like), the problems (Islamic extremism, poverty, etc.) of the Arab states would still exist. -- Simon Melville Well, why didn't we think of it before? If we can just get the Middle East peace process back on the pre-Netanyahu track, the Arab world will get right on that line with Saddam Hussein and the wide assortment of Islamic fundamentalist terrorist groups (and we all know how eager THEY are for the peace process to proceed) and tell them to just cut that out, now. Maybe they'll ask Arafat to rescind the PLO covenant for the destruction of Israel, too, while they're at it. Boy, I'd like a taste of some of the java Jonathan Broder's been knocking back with his dispirited Moroccan coffeeshop buddies. -- John Davis Is Jonathan Broder serious when he places the blame for Saddam Hussein's intransigence and the Luxor massacre upon Israel? I mean, geez, I find it hard to accept that Netanyahu's policies are so bad that they justify building biological weapons and blowing away over 50 tourists, respectively. I think Broder needs to get a sense of perspective. As an American Jew, I do find Netanyahu's government annoying, and I do think he's done quite a lot to sabotage the peace agreement. On the other hand, the reason Netanyahu was elected was because Arab extremists killed a number of Israeli civilians while the peace process was going full-blast under Shimon Peres. At that point in time, the idea of a "peace process" must have seemed like a cruel mockery to Israelis. You know, I think the people who should be blamed for a cowardly terrorist attack killing 58 civilians should be, um, the terrorists. And maybe we should place a little more blame for the Iraqi provocation on the government doing the provoking, in addition to its record of launching a war in 1990 and attempting to ethnically cleanse its Kurdish minority population. Benjamin Netanyahu is a lousy prime minister who has done a lot of stupid things. But if Broder thinks settlement-building and refusal to hand over land in any way justifies terrorist attacks, indiscriminate murders and tinkering with the Ebola virus, then frankly, my dear, I don't think he knows what he's talking about. -- Jordan Matus SALON | Nov. 26, 1997

R E C E N T L Y+| POX POPULI BY JAMES LEDBETTER

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