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AN ISRAELI SCHOOL OF REALISM. Daniel Levy's call for an Israel brand of realism makes some interesting points.
What is missing and needed is for an Israeli school of realism to emerge, capable of addressing the new challenges of the region. This realist school should set out four strategic goals for Israel: to stabilize Israel's security environment; prevent Al-Qaida copycats from gaining a foothold on Israel's doorstep; pursue an end of occupation that will allow for realization of permanent, agreed, recognized and legitimate borders on all fronts; and more effectively isolate the Ahmadinejadist wing in Iran's leadership.I'll start by saying that "Ahmadinejadist" is so close to "Ahmadinejihadist" that I think I can effectively predict the next six months of Little Green Footballs posts from that insight alone. More significantly, Levy argues that locking Abbas in the "moderates' embrace" is actually harming his efficacy. The more he's identified with Israeli interests, the less he can actually do. "In the Palestinian arena Israel should recognize that more is less - the more we hug Abbas the less he can deliver; and that less is more - the less we interfere in Palestinian politics the more likely it is to produce a stable outcome." Additionally, he warns against the Clash of Civilizations types, asserting, again, that the conflict with Hamas "remains grievance-driven - and can be resolved by ending the occupation." That's a pretty optimistic end to that sentence (the devil's in the details, sadly), but the beginning is not merely overlooked, but consciously ignored, by those with a somewhat more apocalyptic agenda.--Ezra Klein
