In repeated visits to the Gulf, my Arab interlocutors have emphasized that they seek nothing less than to redefine the identity and global image of Arab Moslems and that they see Israel’s blending of tradition with enlightenment as a role model for this.

Imagine that: Israel as a role model for modernizing moderate Arab societies! This is so encouraging, and indeed empowering to me, as a Jew and as an Israeli. It gives new meaning to the Biblical prophesy that “From Zion, Torah shall go forth, and the word of G-d from Jerusalem.”