Even if Mr. Fine were correct that politicians have convinced the religious fringes that it's a holy war, I'd then ask "So what"? That kind of analysis gets us nowhere. There ARE elements of the conflict that involve religious bigotries, hatreds, etc. Millions of Jews were murdered over those issues while the moderates and progressives thought "that's so 15th century." Not so!! The world is full of murderers and victims.

YES! The threat is evolving into a resurgence of worldwide antipathy towards Jews, for being arrogant and unwilling to actually do anything besides what Israel "wants." Israel is seen as throwing gas onto the fire by sending in more settlers to the West Bank and unapologetic for the multitudes already "settled." Israel is also militarily weak, based on its loss in Lebanon. Economically, Israel appears strained increasingly by USA's economic weakness. If Iran or Mideast terrorists get nukes or radiologic weapons, the terrorists' behavior is increasingly insane. Increasingly, Israelis insist that their weapons and antimissiles are effective, as if they were American military lobbyists or bigshot Russian medal-wearers. If the USA economy tanks, that would create a big crisis for Israel, and that is a new threat. But perhaps the biggest threat is a kind of "who cares" attitude as the world gallops toward plutocracy.

You are completely right, and it is very sad that political entities in the middle east have convinced the religious fringe that this is a holy war, thereby creating "combatants" that are dying for nothing.