ABSTRACT
Arab morality elevated the welfare of the group over the material welfare of the individual. Although it lacked Western-style constitutions, the Arab world eventually found a systematic set of guiding moral principles in the Koran, which are both a sacred text and a code of regulations. Arab attitudes toward the West, however, are shot through with contradictions. Oil revenues have at last given Arab states the power potential to compete effectively with the West. In some Arab countries, however, reform efforts went far beyond lip service. To the surprise of the Arab state leadership, Palestine Liberation Organization leaders also successfully staked out a claim as the Arabs’ national conscience and virtually pre-empted any prospective opposition. Both political and economic support could be provided the new regionalism, manifested in regional gatherings in the Persian Gulf, the Nile Valley, and the Maghreb. The Israeli problem perhaps was best expressed by Meron Benvenisti, a former deputy mayor of Jerusalem, in February 1983.
