One Small Step

It's time to post a positive story. It appears that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza is starting to reap dividends in the Arab and Muslim world. It will be a long and bumpy road to establish formal ties with important Muslim nations, but every long journey begins with a single step. Pakistan's decision to accept earthquake relief aid from Israel might be a giant leap.

The fact that the foreign ministers from Pakistan and Indonesia are talking with their Israeli counterpart, even informally at this point, is an encouraging sign. The Gaza pullout seems to have given the Muslim countries an excuse to inch away from their hard line toward Israel.

In Kuwait, a leading newspaper carried an opinion piece that encouraged Arab nations to follow Pakistan's lead.

"Israel is not a bogey, and the notion of a greater Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates is no more than a scarecrow that the Arabs have used to justify their despotism, domestic injustice, and political, financial, and administrative corruption," wrote Yusuf Nasir Al Suwaydan, a Saudi.

However, there is still a long way to go when it comes to public opinion in the Arab world. The many years of vilifying Israel in the education system and media has apparently accomplished its purpose and will be hard to undo, even if it is to the benefit of those nations who perpetrated it.

The vehement opposition from the general public could make it difficult for leaders across the Middle East to go much farther in building ties with Israel until more progress is made with the Palestinians, said Mouin Rabbani, a Jordan-based senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

"At the end of the day, these states and governments in principle don't have any objection to going farther than they have already gone, but are being held back by their public opinion which is opposed to such relations," Rabbani said.

There may never be "normal" relations between Israel and the Arab world, but maybe they have turned the corner toward beginning to demonstrate the futility of past hostilities, and the benefits peaceful co-operation. If this is what Ariel Sharon had in mind when he pushed for the Gaza withdrawal, then I apologize for doubting his motives.