crisisgroup:

The Right-Wing Israeli Case That the Arab Spring Is Good for Israel | The Atlantic

By Zvika Krieger

The conventional wisdom, both here in Israel and abroad, is that the popular movements sweeping across the Arab world are bad news for Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently described the Arab Spring as an “Islamic, anti-Western, anti-liberal, anti-Israeli, and anti-democratic wave,” saying that “Israel is facing a period of instability and uncertainty in the region. This is certainly not the time to listen to those who say follow your heart.”

The contention that the Arab Spring is bad for Israel hinges on the assessment that the old regimes in the region are being replaced by more populist, anti-Israel forces, exacerbated by the rise of Islamist groups. (Most Israelis I met prefer the term “Islamist Winter” to describe what is happening around them.) Israelis are convinced that Egypt will abrogate its treaty with them, and that even regimes that are not overthrown will have to be more sensitive to popular will and thus be pushed to adopt more hostile postures toward Israel. As Graham Fuller, former vice chair of the National Intelligence Council at the CIA, put it succinctly: “The biggest single loser [of the Arab Spring], hands down, is Israel.”

As it relates to the Palestinians, many Israelis are arguing, this period of instability and unpredictability is not the time to make concessions. As American Jewish Community Executive Director David Harris recently wrote, “Since the upheaval began in Tunisia, Israel’s immediate security environment has become more, not less, challenging. The chances for peace, already remote, seem still more distant.”

But during my current trip in Israel, I’ve been finding a positive take on the Arab Spring coming from an unexpected place: right-wing Israelis, particularly opponents of the two-state solution. From former security officials to West Bank settlers, I heard a surprisingly large number of Israelis arguing that the Arab Spring will actually solve their problems with the Palestinians.

FULL ARTICLE (The Atlantic)

Photo: Reuters

livingto-serve:

Wow… never thought of it this way.

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doctorswithoutborders:

AID WORKER PROFILES Name: Gerry Bashein
Role: Anesthesiologist
From: Seattle, Washington
Age: 68

Describe the different roles and responsibilities in your assignments? Did you work outside of your specialty?

Anesthesia for general surgery was a part of each assignment, but some missions included a significant proportion of obstetrics—in Liberia, Sudan, and Sri Lanka—or trauma—in Nigeria, and Indonesia. In Indonesia, I was also in charge of the intensive care unit for both medical and surgical patients. In Sri Lanka, I provided relief coverage for the emergency room doctor.

What did you find most challenging about your work?

I had to deal with illnesses that I don’t normally handle as an anesthesiologist in the U.S. The lack of lab facilities, x-ray, and specialists to discuss medical issues with presented different challenges. Without a lab to do bacterial cultures and other tests and measurements, we gave antibiotics, fluids, electrolytes, etc. empirically. Blood was always in short supply. There was limited or no banked blood. I lost a patient who had a pelvic fracture because we couldn’t get blood in time.

Read the rest of Dr. Gerry Bashein’s interview.

photo: 2012 © MSF

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