MembersAdmitting That Israel’s Right Isn’t Easy, Especially for Arabs

And that’s particularly true when it comes to the Israeli-Arab conflict. How often has Israel been blamed for all the various grievances of the Palestinians? And yet, over the past year, we’ve increasingly heard voices in the Arab media acknowledge that the Palestinians are responsible for their own suffering. For instance, many now admit that it is not Israel that ruined Gaza, but rather Hamas. Why the change? A new common enemy: Iran. While there may be political calculations behind what they’re saying, the reality that the Arab media is now ready to accept has been reported by Israel Today for years.

In a recent article in the Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadh, popular Saudi commentator Musaid Al-Asimi flat-out stated that Israel is not the enemy the Arabs were taught to view it as. Instead, he insisted, the Arabs must realize that Iran is their true nemesis. Al-Asimi explained that he was by no means encouraging friendship toward Israel, a country that he still views as an occupier of Arab lands, but it was also not necessary to demonize...