Syrian President Hafez Assad’s demise opens up an interesting opportunity for the Syrians to embrace a lasting peace with Israel. At the same time, I question how committed Israel’s Arab neighbors really are to a lasting peace. Witness the rise of revisionist history being bandied about in the Arab-world media. This revisionist history feeds on the repugnant themes of Holocaust denial and tiresome tirades on the evils of Zionism and its threat to the alleged Pan-Arabist brotherhood waiting to flourish in the Middle East peace.
It is increasingly clear that Israel’s Arab neighbors are intent to foment a greater disdain among the Arab world’s citizenry on Israel’s legitimacy by challenging its historical underpinnings. This is a dangerous course and does not lend much support to any notion that the Arab world can peacefully co-exist with Israel over the long-term.
