Israel as a modern state

 
Sometimes a pure chewing of the cud, a pondering on the issues of the day, an inward reflection, is more appropriate than looking to academic tracts and alternative media for solace from the no news newspapers, the variation of the theme "information", the zionist trash and there I was this evening doing a bit of ruminating, thinking about this that and the next thing and avoiding the usual surfing, skimming and scanning.

"The two-state solution has to be as dead as a dodo", I thought but then I thought a bit further and in doing so realised that it is not only the fact that there are now almost half a million Jewish settlers living on occupied Palestinian land that make it a non-starter, but it was also never a very good idea in the first place. At least, not if you have an antipathy towards that homogeneous national state that can only a priori be racist and there was me thinking how Germany is changing and how their national team is no longer as much "Meier and Müller" as "Mehmet and Miroslav". No, of course, it isn't perfect but the evidence would seem to suggest that Europe, at least west of the Oder, is moving in the right direction. Yes, Germany might even be in the process of becoming a modern state and modern states are just not based on ethnicity.

The point is, wouldn't it be so nice if we had a little country down in the Middle East that was really to point the way? A state where muslims, christians, jews and athiests could all live happily together in a secular all inclusive democracy and which would set an example for everyone in the region. They could even vote on its name and should the majority wish it to be called "Israel", it would not be for me to argue and who knows ego and a few others of a similar ilk might indeed be prepared to accept the "only democracy in the Middle East" into our community of modern nations. Yes, modern man just has to be in favour of the one state solution.