While the wall sounds ominous, its effects on the ground create a better climate for talks with the Palestinian Authority. Eventually even Hamas will realize it has to govern, and while it's too early to tell, the ball is in their court for the whole world to see. I predict they will end up seeking a "modus vivendi" with the Israelis. The vast majority of Palestinians want to live in peace and develop an economy that can provide a better life for them, their families and - most of all - their children.
In the meantime, the Israeli economy is healthy, the stock market is up and unemployment is down. With inflation low, Israel's "Silicon Valley," the high-tech sector, is booming both in investment and exports as well as with cutting-edge technologies.
Clearly Israel is profoundly concerned about Iranian rockets that could hit Tel Aviv, but they could also hit Saudi Arabia. It behooves all freedom-loving nations to prevent fascist-speaking Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from turning his nation into a nuclear-armed threat to the region.
Russia will play a strong role in helping the world deal with Iran, and that's one large reason why I've taken the position that President Vladimir Putin's chairing role at the G-8 meeting this July in St. Petersburg is crucial to the success of a multilateral approach to making sure Iran does not possess nuclear military capability.
While the word privatization is divisive in U.S. politics, it's far less so in Israel, as they move toward privatizing oil refineries, Israeli military industries, aircraft industries and their four state-owned seaports.
This is historic because the government has always been involved in nearly all sectors of the Israeli economy, particularly in defense-related and monopolistic businesses. In recent years a broad structural reform initiated by the government was performed in order to promote the growth of the private sector and to enhance competition. Privatization efforts have included the full or partial sale of state-owned companies and banks and the transfer of activities that were previously performed by the government or by statutory authorities into commercial company entities.
Tourism is growing again, and I remain hopeful that our moderate Arab friends recognize the opportunity, indeed the necessity of leading the region toward amicable and pragmatic recognition of Israel's fundamental right to exist.