Egpyt: Israel, Egypt and democracy

The world has held its breath in anticipation of the revolution in Egypt, but the last to exhale will be Israel.

While Israel is right to be weary of the events unfolding right across its borders, if a democratic Egypt is to prevail from this uprising, it can only mean good things for the region at large.  

But it should come as no surprise that Israel would doubt the accomplishments of the protests in Cairo. A power vacuum is a lurking uncertainty in the wake of Mubarak.   

However, it is exhilarating to view the events with a sense of optimism and stand in solidarity with the Egyptian protesters, believing that democracy is what they really want.

It is what they deserve, after all. The United States has long touted the importance of democracy in the Middle East, but it has also shamelessly supported autocrats in order to maintain stability in the region.

In 1967, the United States and Mubarak entered a relationship that supplied Egypt with half of its military budget and most of its intelligence services. This served to bribe Egypt into peace with Israel, an agreement that favored everyone involved except for the Egyptian people.

The Egyptian people know what they deserve, and that’s the freedom they see across their border. Israel has long been considered the only true democracy in the Middle East, and it’s about time that title is shared across the region.  

More importantly, it’s the only way real peace can ever be accomplished in the Middle East. War between two democracies is an incredibly unlikely event, meaning the only way this can become a reality is through revolutions like the one happening in Egypt right now. The road to peace is a chaotic and uncertain process, but it is the only way to truly gain stability in the region.

If one lesson can be gleaned from Iraq, it is that democracy must come from the will of the people if it is to truly work.

And it looks as if that is what is happening in Egypt.

These optimistic projections can only be fruitful if a true democracy is to result from this revolution. A test of a true democracy in Egypt will be in the diplomatic relationship between Egypt and Israel.

The two countries can be friendly neighbors without the United States acting as a buffer. It means good things for Israel, better things for the Egyptian people and potential progress for Palestine.  

True democracy in Egypt is the first step toward peace throughout the region, a hopeful future where finally, every country involved can exhale.


E-mail: danfleis@indaian.edu