In many ways, Israel is similar to the medieval Crusader states in the Holy Land. It has a different religion and different institutions from all of its neighbours. It looks west for its military and economic support and if it were not for that support would be unlikely to survive for long.
Just as with those states, Israel is secure for as long as it can rely on its western lifeline. In the short term there is little danger of this being cut (the crusader states lasted about 200 years too). The US will probably be the dominant global power for the rest of my lifetime but it won’t be for ever. Think how one would have written about the long term future of the British Empire a hundred years ago. So, in the long term and in Israel’s own interests, it needs to come to an accomodation with its neighbours.
by Comment No. 478925
Posted March 16 11:15
on comment is free in response to Josh Freedman Berthoud’s (phew!) article Identity on parade:
`In entering the Eurovision song contest, Israel is making a strong assertion about how it wishes to be viewed by the rest of the world.’
Internal World Bank documents obtained by the 
Covering around 1.3 million square kilometres, the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo are the largest in the world after Amazonia, and have so far largely been spared extensive destruction. An estimated 35 million people live in and around these forests, including Bantu farmers, and Twa and Mbuti hunter-gatherer Pygmies. 
