Since when does a country being small mean that it is vulnerable?

Since when does a country being small mean that it is vulnerable? The American-backed Israel has the strongest military force in the Middle East. It is capable of easily crushing its neighbors whenever it sees fit. It would seem that Finley\'s notion of Israelis being beleaguered in relation to their neighbors is so lacking in evidence that he has to argue on the basis of the size of their country, an utterly clichéd and irrelevant point of debate.

Although there still were many letters to the Detroit News supporting Israel unconditionally, after Finley\'s "Support for Israel\'s defense" article, letters in opposition were seen more often.

The Detroit News, to its credit, ran a number of letters criticizing Finley\'s position and also allowed guest editorials by Sheikh Mohammad Ali Elahi, the imam of Dearborn Heights\' Islamic House of Wisdom, and Imad Hamad, director of the Michigan Chapter of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Both Elahi and Hamad were highly critical of Israel\'s actions against Lebanon.

Hamad was even able to say, "The disturbing fact is that people who are justifiably critical of Israel immediately become targets of harassment." However, this did not undo what Finley had said and he never apologized for his comments. Conclusion Most editors who are part of the mainstream western media are much more subtle if they support Israel because readers do not like to feel they are perusing propaganda. Regarding reporters, they are sometimes biased but often times may be ignorant.

The same may be said about film producers. However, in all cases, the negative portrayal of Arabs and Muslims can be seen as a direct attack on the interests of al-Imam al-Mahdi\'s movement, which must be addressed. One may take hope in Warikoo. He visited Lebanon on behalf of the Detroit Free Press after the conflict and his reporting since the trip was of markedly better-in this case meaning more balanced-regarding incidents involving Arabs and Muslims.

He wrote several stories that showed far more empathy for Arabs and Muslims, including a piece titled "Stares, whispers take toll on metro Muslims - They tire of defending religion, ethnicity." Perhaps part of the solution to cutting through ignorance regarding the Arab and Muslim world is that the Shi\'a facilitate meetings and visits by dignitaries. Israel is far ahead of us in this regard and savvy when it comes to winning the hearts and minds of undecided policy makers.