Eric's Beijing Diary

Saw an interesting discussion on Dialogue the other day. An Egyptian journalist and the press officer from the Israeli embassy were the guests. I've seen these guys on before. This time, there was a Chinese guy sitting between them (presumably to keep them apart), who kept saying, "I'm optimistic."

Well, I am not optimistic. This situation just won't go away. I guess we shouldn't be surprised. Right now, I don't know who to blame most. I blame the Americans because they have turned from faith in God to faith in Democracy. They talk (and seem to think) as if democracy is the answer to all the world's problems, but when the Palestinian people elect a bunch of gangsters to lead them, the Americans hypocritically refuse to deal with this democratically elected government.

I blame the Israelis, because I think they have real trouble showing genuine compassion to the Palestinians. I understand their frustration (as if!), but the Palestinians have a unique set of problems that Israel must play a large part in alleviating. Israel is far too willing to jeopardize the safety of (Palestinian) women and children to accomplish a military objective. This comes pretty close to terrorism. Perhaps we could call it reverse terrorism.

And I blame the Palestinians because they hold stubbornly to the idea that some day in the blissful future, Israel will just go away. Israel is here to stay.