If you want to learn what a “peaceful” Middle East will look like, it makes sense to look at the 40th anniversary of Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty being marked this month.
If peace is the absence of war, then the treaty is an unqualified success. From four major wars in 30 years to zero wars in 40 years is an impressive achievement.
But if peace means friendship and normal relations, this has been a failure. Anti-Israel and antisemitic articles are still commonplace in Egypt/
To see which side really wants peace, look at how each country is marking the occasion.
In Israel this week, there was a major conference at Hebrew University to mark the event:
There were many major speakers, including Israel’s President Rivlin.
No Egyptians spoke..
Today, there is another major conference by INSS marking the anniversary, with many well-known speakers as well.
In this case, there are two Egyptians speaking: One is the head of the Egyptian-American Business Association and the other is an Egyptian doctoral student who studies in Tel Aviv.
No Egyptian government officials are attending.
On the Egyptian side, I cannot find any official or unofficial commemoration of the event. To Egyptians, 40 years of peace is not something to celebrate.
In fact, the Cairo24 news site is covering today’s INSS conference – and the article is meant to shame the two Egyptian citizens who are speaking.
It is obvious which side actually embraces and celebrates peace and which side looked upon it as a tactical move, but not something that should actually be used to improve relations between the two countries
This is probably the best that Israel can ever hope to achieve with other Arab countries. Peace is wonderful, but realize that the Arabs will never truly accept Jews as equals in the Middle East.
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