Promised land a hollow promise

The great dream of Zionism - to re-create the Promised Land in Palestine - has become a satanic nightmare in which the destruction of Lebanon and the continual short-changing of the Palestinian people are the central images.

Israel is, of course, the master of spin. As a Lebanese friend said to me recently, the problem is that the Israeli media machine is so slick and its spokespeople so articulate, while the Palestinians and Arabs, on the other hand, are often embarrassing presenters of their case. In an era when the “10-second grab” matters, Israel has no peer.

Perhaps that explains why political leaders in the US, Australia and Britain, in particular, simply see the current bloodshed through the narrow prism of tit for tat - Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation which, goaded by Syria and Iran, provoked Israel and, therefore, Israel is justified in defending itself.

Such a perspective misses the bigger picture: that until the world is prepared to help build a strong Lebanon, recognise the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people and deal with Israel's moral vacuity, then what is happening at present will continue ad infinitum.