tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36269884.post1102511826196697110..comments2023-06-16T08:46:37.015-05:00Comments on The Reform Baal T'shuvah: Because it seems remiss not to . . .The Reform Baal Teshuvahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00842373562562136325noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36269884.post-18549432186843673582009-01-13T22:19:00.000-06:002009-01-13T22:19:00.000-06:00Jon,You are right. I thought that I had addressed...Jon,<BR/><BR/>You are right. I thought that I had addressed this in this post, but it is, in fact in another piece of writing I did on the subject.<BR/><BR/>Here is the relevant bit:<BR/><BR/><I>If this war can break Hamas’ hold on Gaza, and if Israel can penetrate and build up Gaza to the point where it is thriving, independent of the Arab world with its propaganda, then maybe we can bring them into the world under better circumstances.<BR/><BR/>The problem is that by focusing on the Palestinians without paying attention to the context in which they are stuck we will find that we have no negotiating partner, not because the Palestinians are in anyway obstinate, but because they don’t have any real power.<BR/><BR/>How do we give them the power they need? By building up Gaza, by providing schools that don’t teach their children to hate, by providing essential services and a bit of the good life, and by (and this is the most difficult) insulating them against the memes so prevalent in the Arab world calling for Israel’s destruction.</I>The Reform Baal Teshuvahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00842373562562136325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36269884.post-29607466731333327382009-01-13T13:49:00.000-06:002009-01-13T13:49:00.000-06:00Rich, Commitment is very important, but I would a...Rich,<BR/><BR/> Commitment is very important, but I would also argue for containment of a sort - Germany and Japan were fairly insulated from any "bad influences" that were interested in keeping them as they were. Palestine by contrast has a whole lot of people who want them to stay in a wretched state. This is a level of counter-commitment that cannot easily be overcome by any amount of good intentions from Washington.Jon Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10111853114718892212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36269884.post-29193563254571984332009-01-12T21:11:00.000-06:002009-01-12T21:11:00.000-06:00Jon,What matters, I think, to the success or failu...Jon,<BR/><BR/>What matters, I think, to the success or failure of reconstruction is the level of commitment. In most of the instances you cite, the commitment just hasn't been there. There's a difference between reconstruction and building schools for the media.The Reform Baal Teshuvahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00842373562562136325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36269884.post-70143278307514213402009-01-12T16:32:00.000-06:002009-01-12T16:32:00.000-06:00Another thought, and I hope you'll forgive me for ...Another thought, and I hope you'll forgive me for being an interloping conservative Christian here, but reconstruction efforts have been tried all over. Germany and Japan are perhaps our finest examples, but there is also Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, to say nothing of Afghanistan and Iraq. How does one survey the landscape and determine which kicked booties will best benefit from the second phase of such a policy?Jon Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10111853114718892212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36269884.post-22250918344638714362009-01-12T14:37:00.000-06:002009-01-12T14:37:00.000-06:00A more excellent and approachable summation of for...A more excellent and approachable summation of foreign policy I have not seen in a long long time.<BR/><BR/>While we're wishing, wouldn't it be great if other honorable parties joined in on this reconstruction? A contingent from the Arab League, perhaps? The World Bank? It would make it perhaps easier to accept if it were coming from the world rather than just from Israel.Jon Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10111853114718892212noreply@blogger.com