Arabs Need to Move On

Arab rulers perpetuate external enemies and threats so that their people will not hold them accountable for their country's political, economic, and social ills. When Arabs begin to speak out and demand accountable leaders, internal dissent will be legitimized and serious reform will be advanced. That, essentially, is the message Mona Eltahawy so eloquently delivers in an op-ed in the July 28 edition of the Washington Post:

"My generation, sadly, might be lost to defeat and humiliation. If so, the best gift we can offer those coming behind us is clear advice: Don't walk in our footsteps, and know that the best way you can help Palestinians is to help your own countries.... The 1967 war was one of the many conflicts with Israel that bookend our ages. Looking around the Arab world today, we must ask: What were they all for? It's time to move on."

Imagine what could be accomplished in the Arab world if all that hate, animosity, and economic resources were channeled to improving their societies instead of perpetuating conflict with Israel.