By Ari Shavit, Haaretz Correspondent: 'Theater of the absurd'
Talkback
Title: Whose Sword will End the Conflict? Name: John Mark City: Gloucestershire State: England
I think that Dr Begin has accurately put his finger on the pulse when he said, "There are two alternatives. Either we live by our sword or we die by their sword". Sadly, I believe that the balance of offensive weapons on the ground will mean that the option "we die by their sword" is the most likely to occur. This may seem odd given that Israel has nuclear weapons and the Arabs do not, though they may through Iran before long. However, the non-nuclear fire-power of the Arabs could ruin the morale of Israel`s citizenry regardless of the damage inflicted by nuclear weapons on Arabs. The equation regarding survival is to the benefit of the Arabs. They will never be paralysed by the terror of non-existence because they are many countries and have vast populations. This is not true of Israeli society, which can be paralysed by an existential fear even though it remains militarily more powerful than its enemies. So, Israeli will survive a little longer by its own sword.