Yemini sees the 'glass half full' of the Arab world (in Bahrain, Morocco, UAE)

Submitted by Bobby (United States), Nov 29, 2022 at 12:10

https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/rkroivqds

The glass is half full of the Arab world

There is no surprise regarding the Israelis in the World Cup in Qatar just as there is no surprise in the riots in Belgium. But data from the Emirates, Bahrain and Marocco give reasons for optimism

Ben-Dror Yemini | November 29, 2022

The World Cup is slowly becoming a more political and less sporting event. A state of emergency was declared in several major cities in Belgium yesterday because of Morocco's victory over their national team. Here and there, media outlets around the world tried to ignore the fact that the rioters, which also spread to the Netherlands, are immigrants from Morocco, that this is their way of expressing their joy, which is also their hatred. they won what do they want Why was it necessary to break, smash and set cars on fire? So the Israeli journalists who encountered displays of hostility in Qatar should congratulate themselves that their luck has improved. They suffered verbal violence. In Brussels it was physical violence.

And yet, it was frustrating. The Israelis who came to Qatar thought they were in the era of Abraham's agreements, and instead of flowers, they receive volleys of hatred for the very existence of Israel. There is only one problem. There is no surprise here. Qatar is the Sunni version of Shiite Iran. A country that fosters hatred for Israel. In fact, there is almost no "Israel" in the media there. The Jewish state has another name: "the entity of colonial apartheid". This is a Muslim Brotherhood country, but rich as hell. And what did we think, that Israelis would be received there with "Ahlan Wa Sahlan"?

The Palestinian issue was for decades a political resource for cultivating hatred. Dark regimes need a [Bogeyman] "daemon". The Jewish state fulfilled the role successfully. These are not us, the Arabs have brainwashed themselves. it's them "What caused Damascus, the most beautiful of cities, to freeze like this?" Dr. Sami al-Khoury, a Syrian diplomat, asked in 2004 about the gloom of the city he loves so much. In an article he published, he also answered: "Zionist tyranny. The political regimes stood embarrassed in the face of this tyranny." And in general, it is "global Zionism", according to him, that controls the global economy and the global media.

The incitement is still there. And the only country where the level of incitement is at the level of the Hamas rule in Gaza is Qatar. And probably Iran too. Since hundreds of millions of Arabs are exposed to the Al Jazeera channel from the city of Doha, which is also the capital of the World Cup, the impact is there. But neither the disappointment that took over reporters and observers from the center and the left, nor the "we told you so" from the right - do not sit on solid ground; The problem of the Arab world is the Arab world. He is the one who created, since the establishment of Israel, mostly horrible wars of Arabs against Arabs. between the countries and within the countries.

But there is another Arab world. After all, any Israeli who has visited the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain or Morocco knows that the atmosphere there is completely different. And within each country there is a variety of opinions. Most regions of Morocco are welcoming, although there is also a non-marginal Islamist current there. And sometimes you don't need a majority to cause riots. This is what happened just the other day in major cities in Belgium and the Netherlands.

So with all due respect to personal experiences, it is also worth looking at the change that is going through the Arab world. In the past I have already written about a survey by the Zogbi Institute from Washington, which indicates a significant change in public opinion in the Arab world. According to the same survey, as of 2019, in the United Arab Emirates there is 84% ​​support for normalization with Israel even without peace with the Palestinians, 79% in Saudi Arabia, 73% in Egypt, 72% in Jordan, 49% in Lebanon and even 39% in the Palestinian Authority.
The results were both surprising and upsetting. So another survey was conducted, also by Zogbi, after the Abraham Accords were signed and after Trump's peace initiative was presented. The results were a little less optimistic, but still, 42-41% in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan support normalization even without peace, 56% in the Emirates, and 31% among the Palestinians. What is more interesting in the new survey is that in most of the countries surveyed, there is a majority that knows the details of Trump's peace initiative and a majority that supports it (with the exception of Jordan, where there are 51% opposed). Among the Palestinians, by a considerable margin from the Arab countries, there are 81% opponents. This is definitely a reason for optimism.

So the atmosphere in Doha is indeed hostile, because the Palestinian presence there is high, and opposition to the very existence of Israel dominates the dome. But the claims of too many Israelis, here and there also journalists, that "it's because of the occupation" - are vain claims. Those who oppose the existence of Israel are not interested in the occupation.

And in general, the rage of brainwashed people permeated with hatred did not need excuses. He settles for dark feelings. So in Doha, Qatar, where Arabs take out their anger on Israelis, and so in Brussels, where immigrants take out their anger on the country where they live. There is no occupation there. There is no national conflict. And yet, the Israelis encounter verbal violence. The Belgians - with physical violence.

So let's do ourselves a favor and look at the glass half full. And there is already more than half a glass. The Arab world is also Casablanca, Marrakesh and Dubai, and not just Doha. The conflict with the Palestinians needs to be reduced, and separation is necessary even without another state, because that is what is right for Israel, regardless of what Hamas or Al Jazeera say.

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