A New Tactic

I really wasn't surprised by the article by Khadafi that I saw in a recent edition of the Toronto Star. (See http://www.thestar.com/article/576455 ) It seems that the article was syndicated to many papers in North America and, perhaps, around the world. I was a bit surprised that the article came from Khadafi but I was just waiting for the Arabs to come up with this idea. Why not have just one big, democratic, state combining Jews and Arabs in the land that is called Israel and/or Palestine? This is an idea that the Western World can clearly embrace. The fact that Khadafi is the one making this suggestion would really appeal to the Western World. He will be seen as one who has repented, as one who has embraced democracy. Khadafi in his article even declares that he understands why Jews need a land and is willing to accept their presence on the land. All the Arabs want is democracy; would that ever sell in the West?

And, of course, the Arabs will get want they want anyway. Such a democratic state, especially with an ever growing Arab population that will surpass the Jewish population soon, if it has not already done so, could not possibly be a Jewish state. And what has happened in Gaza shows that even when this "democratic" population votes in a totalitarian government, there will still be support for this "democratically, elected government" in the West -- which means that when this population turns its totalitarian objectives against the Jewish population in this theoretical democracy, there will always be the argument that its the democratic will.

I just hope that the ploy turns against Khadafi. Rather than Westerners being even more supportive of this idea because it comes from a "repentant totalitarian", they will recognize that it is another ploy from a manipulative dictator who has just come up with another way to achieve his totalitarian goal.

Rabbi Ben Hecht