By Amitai Ziv : Palestinian phone calls to Saudi Arabia ­via Israel and Jordan
Talkback
Title: Racism and paranoia yes, but bureacracy too Name: Joe Sittizen City: Jerusalem State: Israel
The endemic racism and security paranoia is a result of the conflict between the two sides. But don`t get the Israelis wrong. There`s a bolshevist bureaucracy that inflicts itself upon Israelis as well, and has no filters for who is Arab or Jew. There are hundreds or thousands of Israeli firms who get screwed over when trying to import products. Anything from electronics to edible goods are free game for the bureaucrats, who still like their baksheesh and have spent the past century perfecting their system. Companies like Paltel have no choice - they have to toe the line of the law and use lawyers and the courts. But smaller companies, Israeli and Palestinian, simply don`t have the cash reserves to hire the lawyers and keep their inventory in a bonded warehouse for months or years until some corrupt bureaucrat finally signs the release forms. Israelis and Palestinians share corruption problems - worthy leaders should address them in a peace treaty. If we can find any worthy leaders...