Economist.com | Israelis and Palestinians: Moshe is proud to be Israeli, proud to have fought to defend his country (as a tank-commander in Lebanon in the 1980s), and confident that God will protect his chosen people. He thinks military service forges valuable bonds. �In the army, no one knows if you are rich or poor, if you have problems in your family; everyone is the same.� He bangs his fists together. �It's good to be united, to be strong.� "Arabs have never been able to stand up to the West: instead of using their oil wealth to achieve political objectives, they waste it on importing luxury cars and Marlboro cigarettes. "