Word: arabism
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...stakes this May 29 were manifest, nothing less than a referendum on Arab-Israeli peace and the course that could change the region's political, cultural and economic character, perhaps forever. At issue was not peace vs. security: all Israelis crave both, and each candidate vowed he could deliver both, if by vastly different means. For voters the choices resolved themselves into something deeply psychological: hope vs. fear, opportunity vs. peril, a plunge into a risky future or an overhasty abandoning of the familiar, go-it-alone past. Was it wise to put faith in the dream of Nobel Peace...
...Jewish settlements in the West Bank. He would undertake talks on the territory's final status but not discuss Jerusalem. He would model himself on the Nixon who went to China, the Begin who met with Sadat, while his chief lieutenants include truculent extremists like Ariel Sharon, who demand Arab capitulation on Israel's terms. Israelis all call their new leader Bibi as if they know him well, but few seem sure which of those campaign promises are the real thing...
...Arab capitals the results were greeted with varying degrees of indifference, dismay, anxiety, bitterness, resignation. "We don't differentiate between Peres and Netanyahu," said Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, noting that "a few weeks ago, it was Peres who was bombing civilians in Lebanon." But Netanyahu's ascendance was grim news to most Arabs. "We in the Middle East are in trouble," said Nawaf Salam, a law lecturer at the American University of Beirut. "Only Peres was willing to offer something the Arabs could accept. With him, Israel had a real possibility of reconciliation with the region. Now all this...
...short term, Palestinians are reacting calmly, but over time their response to an unbending Netanyahu could flare up into a new intifadeh, the six-year stones-and-guns uprising that finally forced Israel to negotiate with them. The new Prime Minister claims that Arab leaders will simply lower their expectations when confronted by in-your-face showdowns. Instead he might drive despairing Palestinians, who have profited even less than Israelis by the peace process so far, into battle. It is a possibility that Benny Begin, Menachem's son and another hardheaded prospect for the Likud government, concedes is real...
...Washington is worried that Netanyahu could pay a high price if he kisses off meaningful Syrian talks. That peace deal is the prerequisite for snuffing out the Hizballah campaign in Lebanon, where Damascus exerts significant influence over the Shi'ite guerrillas fighting against Israel's occupation. Those Arab enemies already demonstrated the day after his victory that they are not cowed by a Netanyahu government, when they exploded two remote-controlled roadside bombs that killed four Israeli soldiers--a telling reminder that securing Israelis against violence will be just as difficult for the hard-nosed Netanyahu as for his softer...