Bringing Peace
No clash of civilizations, says UN
report
A
UN-sponsored group says the Israel-Palestinian conflict is the main
cause of global tensions.
By Dan
Murphy | Staff writer of The
Christian Science Monitor
"CAIRO –
A UN-sponsored
group called the Alliance of Civilizations, created last year to
find ways to bridge the growing divide between Muslim and Western
societies, released a first report Monday that says the conflict
over Israel and the Palestinian territories is the central driver
in global tensions.
"Our emphasis on
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not meant to imply that it is
the overt cause of all tensions between Muslim and Western
societies," write the report's authors, a group of academics and
present and former government officials from 19 different
countries. "Nevertheless, it is our view that the
Israeli-Palestinian issue has taken on a symbolic value that colors
cross cultural and political relations ... well beyond its limited
geographic scope." "
"But while the authors hope
their report will invigorate and create cross-cultural dialogue,
its tone implies that it is unlikely to be well received by the
United States and Israel, focusing as it does on allegations of
double standards by those two nations while giving less time to the
faults of the Palestinians or specific Muslim
governments."
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