MORE THAN FOUR QUESTIONS - REDUX

(Originally posted on The Voice of Moderation June, '08 and just as valid , if not more so today.)

Having spoken with Jewish and non-Jewish Americans about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and having read about attitudes of Jewish Israelis, I was very surprised to find how strongly the disagreement is between two bodies of thought. Recognizing that the standard bell-shaped curve still applies and that some opinions are the result of distorted media coverage and anti-Semitism, at the risk of over simplification, they seem to be divided over one central issue:

IS THE THREAT TO WESTERN CIVILIZATION, AMERICA, AND ISRAEL FROM RADICAL MILITANT MUSLIMS REAL AND SERIOUS?

From that one issue stems the following additional question:
· Is the Muslim end game the destruction of the State of Israel?
· Is Israel the first line of defense in the global war with militant Islam…. The canary in the coal mine?
· Is the Israeli/Palestinian conflict a proxy war between the US and Muslim countries like Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia?
· Are the US and Israeli governments working to strengthen, maintain, or weaken Israel’s security?
· Do moderate Muslims support Israel’s right to exist?
· What are moderate Muslims doing to prevent the spread of radical Islam and the attacks on US interests, Israel, and those countries, Arab and non-Arab, whose governments are viewed as a threat to the spread of radical Islam?
· Will Muslims honor agreements with infidels?
· Is the intifada a resistance movement or a propaganda act to facilitate the end-game strategy?
· Is Israel doing what is necessary to establish a level of security against homicide bombers and rocket attacks or is Israel oppressing Palestinians?
· And others that I have not yet thought of……

The answers to these questions may well also be central to the election of the next US president.