I finished reading former President Jimmy Carter's latest (and allegedly controversial) book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid late last week. It is an absolute must-read for anybody interested in Middle East politics. What I found most enlightening about the book is that his storytelling is not filtered through the typical western media lens, meaning we actually get to see real history from the first person. Quite striking is how this differs vastly from the reality presented to us on a daily basis. The bottom line to the book is this: Israel has done everything possible to undermine the peace process over the last 30 years, actively working against anyone and everyone. They've gone so far as to instigate armed conflict on the precipice of historic peace agreements, quite possibly to spawn a violent response that could be used to manipulate their own people into supporting irrational, non-peaceful behavior.
Anybody who is familiar with the Christian New Testament, and in particular with Revelations, knows that in the end times Israel will become isolated. After reading this book, it has become crystal clear to me that it will be the arrogant, elitist, isolationist behavior of the Israeli government that will eventually lead to this culminating moment. I'm increasingly inclined to view it as a final defining moment of humility forced upon a people that has acted for years as the "chosen people" in contravention of the laws of man and God. I do not mean these remarks to appear anti-Semitic, because they are not. It is purely an observation that the previous and ongoing actions of the Israeli government have largely created and stoked the conflict in the Middle East, despite implementable solutions existing.
I imagine years from now this posting could be dug up and thrown in my face. To those who would do so, I challenge you to first read Pres. Carter's book and then try to explain to me how the actions of Israel can be interpreted as anything other than obstructionist and inflammatory.