Weekly Commentary: It's Not Always About Israel

Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 15 October 2009

We Israelis sometimes get so caught up in ourselves that we actually start
to believe that we are the explanation for everything going on in our
region.

And it simply isn't true.

Turkey isn't courting Syria and Iran because of Israeli construction in
Ramat Eshkol. Turkey's moves are driven by a myriad of domestic, regional
and global considerations.

Iran doesn't represent a threat to its neighbors -and beyond - because of
its pronounced goal to bring about the destruction of the Jewish state.
Iran's activities would constitute a clear and present danger even if Israel
didn't exist.

Syria's destructive role in Lebanon is also not related to the Arab-Israeli
conflict.

And the list goes on.

There are two important policy ramifications to this simple truth:

For Israel: When we weigh the risks associated with a given move, we have
to take into consideration the possibility that changes may take place -
through no fault of our own - that could make the move considerably more
dangerous.

For the "West": Turning the screws on Israel to conclude a house-of-cards
deal with the Palestinians so that the Arab-Israeli conflict can be
[temporarily] removed from the diplomatic "do list" won't clear off the rest
of the list of trouble spots.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il