Frank's Musings

Apparently, Bahrain, the U.A.E., Jordan and Egypt now regard the Palestinians as desperate and uncompromising. Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab League will probably join them.  They have concluded that working with Israel is more likely to yield benefits for them than stubbornly insisting on reparation. It’s certainly cheaper and potentially more rewarding than merely subsidizing the economic development of a Palestinian state. 

Israel is a wildly successful economic entity. Moreover, with the recent loss of revenue from oil and gas production, the Arab states realize that their own welfare will be more dependent on entrepreneurship and innovation in their own societies than on the serendipity of hydrocarbon deposits. 

It is uncertain how successful Israeli politicians and business leaders will be in suppressing the territorial expansionist ambitions of ultra-orthodox Jews.  They have a lot to learn from the strategies that Arab politicians and business leaders have followed in compartmentalizing the influence of their fundamentalist religious leaders.  The same may be true for the Palestinian leaders who need to recognize that their future prosperity is more likely if they guarantee the security of a Hasidic religious minority in their own multicultural society.