Israeliblogger, my impression is that you limit your own thinking process by being too simplistic. As Human Beings we are all equals. This is a philosophical principle and the basis for the concept of human rights. No disagreement. As individuals we are all different. This our daily reality and it is the basis for differentiated salaries, different marks and different ways of life. All such differences are O.K. as long as they do not violate the human rights of anybody. I guess we still agree. The question mark is in the middle. Are there influences which - although they do in no way abrogate the principle - allow to define broad tendencies in collectives? The disfunctionality of the Arab/Muslim world in general can hardly be denied. We agreed that this is not because Arabs/Muslims are lesser human beings (which would be the racists' position). I for my part cannot pretend that this disfunctionality is matched by equivalent disfunctionality in the Western world which seems to be your preferred explanation. Therefore I am looking for cultural, political, sociological, psychological elements which could help explain the different levels of functionality or pathology in the Arab/Muslim world versus the Western world. The work of Kohut on narcisstic disorders and the concept of honor/shame society versus guilt society are the leads I have found so far. The "psychology" your throw in is too superficial for me. For anyone to see large parts of the Palestinian society value honor (often called "justice" but without any element of compromise, which would characterize "justice in the understanding of any Western legal system) higher than the feeling of safety. So their emotional preferences are not identical to ours. Did I manage to explain myself?