It has long been my contention that the majority of people everywhere are decent and fair. If the will of the people was in fact represented in the sham “democratic” governments of the world, we would live in a far more peaceful and equitable world.
I read a piece on Haaretz.com yesterday that made my chakras tingle, and it underscored my core belief in the basic goodness that lies at the heart of humanity. Harvard University’s Kennedy Law School conducted a poll in Israel, and asked respondents if they would like Israel to “be a society in which Arab and Jewish citizens have mutual respect and equal opportunities.” 73% of Jews and 94% of Arabs said that yes, they would indeed like their society to be one of equal opportunity and shared respect for one another.
I emailed AIPAC a couple of weeks ago because I wanted to ask them some questions, rather than summarily assuming the worst of them. The first question that I wanted to ask was why they think that their agenda is necessarily consistent with the will of all or even most Jews, in Israel and around the world. They did not respond to my request, but this poll implies what I have suspected all along. There is adequate desire within both the Arab and Jewish communities in Israel for respectful and equitable coexistence. It is a powerful minority that prevents it, and AIPAC represents this minority here in America.
Two-thirds of Jews polled said that they agreed that “contributing to co-existence was a personal responsibility.” A similar number supported the teaching of conversational Arabic in Jewish schools to foster improved communication and a deeper sense of cross-cultural understanding.
The challenge inherent in the Israeli/Palestinian situation has always been clearly evident, but an enormous opportunity exists as well. If all of the people in Israel and Palestine can live together with equal opportunity and respect for one another, the rest of the world will see that where there is love and personal responsibility, a new paradigm of lasting peace is possible.
I completely agree. Obviously, the current conflict going on has mainly to do with Israeli government policies that reflect the goals of those in power and not the will of the people. Just as the poll shows. The same can be said for America.
I believe the difference between public opinion and government policy is directly proportional to the amount of government corruption.