POSTED RESPONSE TO A COLUMN IN THE TORONTO GLOBE AND MAIL
Oh please, do not keep repeating the cliché that Hamas wishes to destroy Israel. That is a childish, unthinking assertion.
Parties who do not agree on many things can still live side by side so long as they both follow agreed protocols. There are many, many examples of this.
If Israel actually thought it was even possible, they would have never subsidized Hamas in the first place.
No force or party in this region of the world has even a dream of having the capacity to destroy Israel.
Starting with that basic truth - rather than the fantasy of little David surrounded by Philistines - a genuine peace can be achieved.
Israel's right wing uses this nonsense about destroying Israel as a lever for power.
It is paranoid fantasy, but as we all know paranoid fantasies can genuinely affect people. Just look at America during the Red Scares of post 9/11.
Many Israelis want the land without the Palestinians. There is ample evidence of this over decades. That really is the main reason for a lack of peace.
What may indeed destroy Israel ultimately is its utter failure to achieve peace with its neighbors, its arrogant, violent behavior towards every neighbor.
Can anyone maintain a garrison state forever? Does, in fact, anyone want to?
The costs of a reasonable peace with a few relatively small risks are less than continuing the insanity we have now.
