 |
|
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Jan. 15, 2009
/ 19 Teves 5769
The Gaza Riviera
By David Suissa
A famous Los Angeles ad man imagines what could have been
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
In the advertising business, clients pay us to dream. To dream means not to be too imbedded with reality, to be unshackled from any inconvenient fact that
might interfere with the dreaming process, to be, like they say in self-help seminars, appropriately unreasonable.
The price you pay for dreaming is to expose yourself to abuse and ridicule. In a tough world, you never want to be accused of being naive. The expression, "Are you dreaming?" didn't develop by accident.
What you can gain by dreaming, though, is significant. Dreaming is only limited by your imagination, so it can lead you to wild and breakthrough ideas. At the very least, it can give you a new way of looking at old problems.
Why am I telling you all this? Because the other day, as my mind was numb from yet another report from the Gaza war zone, I saw something that made me go off on a wild dream. It started with the sight of two Israeli soldiers as they drove into Gaza in an armored personnel carrier, and as I watched the soldiers, I recalled how much Israelis love to go to the beach.
As if I was hallucinating, I then imagined the same two soldiers in their beach clothes, in a convertible roadster, with a surf board sticking out and the music blasting, and instead of going to war, they were going to meet their buddies for a day of partying on the beach.
They were going to the jetsetters' newest fun spot: the Gaza Riviera.
By now, my mind was losing control. Images started flooding in. I saw this fabulous strip of hotels and casinos right by a sparkling ocean. I imagined thousands of proud Palestinians working with smiles on their faces to serve the thousands of tourists from around the world who were coming to their little strip of ocean paradise.
Behind this paradise, I saw a bustling economy, where the highest quality produce was grown and exported; where entrepreneurs built software companies, banks and advertising agencies; where a university attracted students from around the world; where local culture and the arts thrived; and where you could take the Orient Express train to Beirut, Cairo and, yes, even Tel Aviv.
And then I woke up.
But as I rubbed my eyes and crashed back to the reality of Grad missiles and bombing raids, I realized what the really crazy part of my dream was: It could easily have happened. That's right, the Palestinians could have built their own Riviera.
Think back to that infamous summer of 2005, the year of the Gaza disengagement, when Israel finally said: OK, you don't want us here, we're leaving — take it, it's all yours. Oh, and we'll even throw in our state-of-the-art farms and greenhouses, in case you want to continue growing some of the finest produce in the world.
Is there any doubt that had the Palestinians chosen the "Riviera" option, Israel would have welcomed it? That Israel would have responded to this show of good faith and optimism with corresponding gestures of cooperation and good will? That there would have been no need for "suffocating closures"? That, in fact, Israelis, known for their love of life and travel, would have been the first tourists to sample the delightful pleasures of this new Gaza?
Yet tragically, instead of choosing the Riviera option — the option of building for the future — the Palestinians chose the option of killing and dying for the past.
Instead of seizing the moment and showing Israel and the world what they could do with the land that they love, they showed the world that they still hate the Jews more than they love the land.
Instead of using the hundreds of millions the world showered on them to build housing, infrastructure and industry, they built bomb factories and hundreds of tunnels to smuggle rockets they could fire into Israeli towns.
Instead of making laws that would protect the freedoms and rights of their people and encourage investment and innovation, they imposed Sharia laws with such punishments as severing hands, crucifixion and hanging.
Instead of teaching love of life to their children, as JWR contributor Mark Steyn has written, they "marinated them in a sick death cult in which martyrdom in the course of Jew-killing is the greatest goal to which a citizen can aspire."
Finally, instead of using their Jewish neighbors as allies and trading partners, they provoked them into a destructive war in the hope that the world would renew its hostility for Jews and the Zionist state would be further undermined.
And to an extent, it worked. The world is once again blaming Israel for the Palestinians' suffering and condemning it for the deaths of civilians used cowardly as human shields.
And once again, Israel is losing the war of images.
But while the images of destruction coming out of Gaza are indeed tragic, there is one missing image that also merits our sorrow. This is the image of what could have been — what the Palestinians could have done with their precious land after Israel left Gaza three and a half years ago.
This is an image where the hero brands are Hilton and Sheraton, rather than Grads and Qassams; where captains of industry overshadow captains of terror gangs; where poets outshine bullies and guitars outshine guns; where the excitement of building for the future overcomes the aphrodisiac of permanent victimhood.
Yes, it's an image that requires one to dream in wild and unreasonable ways.
But an hour's drive up the coast from Gaza, you can see an image that was also once nothing but a dream, and that was built without any help from the United Nations or the international community.
It's an image of a thriving little Riviera called Tel Aviv, and for our Palestinian neighbors, it's a poignant and concrete reminder of what might have been.
Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
To comment, please click here.David Suissa is the founder and CEO of Suissa Miller Advertising, a $300 million marketing firm named "Agency of the Year" by USA Today that attracts clients like Heinz, Dole, McDonalds, Princess Cruises, Charles Schwab and Acura. Suissa's writings on advertising have been published in several publications including the Los Angeles Times and Advertising Age. He is also a columnist for the Jewish Journal in Los Angeles.
© 2009, David Suissa
|
