• by Johan Galtung
• Monday, May 28, 2012
• Inter Press Service

It is in our own interest to understand the causes of violence so we can prevent it in the future, writes Johan Galtung, professor of Peace Studies and rector of the TRANSCEND Peace University.

In this analysis, the author writes that critiques of Israel's disastrous current foreign policy, which advocates an attack on Iran that would plunge the whole region into a mutually destructive war, have been labelled "anti-Semitism". But who is a better friend to a person walking blindfolded towards an abyss: the one who says, "Go right ahead" or the one who says, "Stop, turn around, you are in grave danger!"

What is the solution? A Middle East nuclear-free zone: 64 percent of Israelis are in favour, and the same percentage in Iran, provided Israel participates. This could also be a model for the Korean peninsula. If they negotiated towards such an agreement, both countries would be embraced, with a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Israel is wasting time. A wonderful talmudic tradition, freedom of expression, is now misused for personal abuse instead of solutions to very real crises.

* Johan Galtung, a Professor of Peace Studies, is Rector of the TRANSCEND Peace University. He is author of many books on peace and related issues, including "50 Years - 100 Peace and Conflict Perspectives" published by the TRANSCEND University Press.

© Inter Press Service (2012) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

Where next?

Advertisement