The Middle East has many traditions.

There is the tradition of insisting Israel is the Middle East’s biggest problem. There is the tradition of condemning Israel on Monday. There is the tradition of buying Israeli technology on Tuesday.

And then there is perhaps the region’s finest diplomatic custom: pretending Israel still needs permission to live in the Middle East.

This is called “normalization.”

The wording itself is charming. It suggests Israel has been suffering from some unfortunate social condition, like showing up to a black-tie dinner in sandals, and with enough patience and paperwork, might one day become respectable.

Every few months the world’s diplomats gather to ask the same breathless question: “Will Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel?”

You can almost picture the scene. Somewhere in Riyadh there must be a large brass key hanging on the palace wall. It is, apparently, the Key to the Middle East. Nobody knows exactly how Saudi Arabia acquired it.

The Jewish people have only lived in the region for roughly three thousand years. Jerusalem was already a capital while much of Europe was still experimenting with forests. Archaeologists keep digging up Jewish history every few months like municipal workers discovering inconvenient plumbing.

But never mind all that. History is one thing. Permission is another. Israel, we are told, must wait politely until someone else decides it belongs. It is a fascinating policy. Imagine asking the Nile for proof that it belongs in Africa. Now imagine asking the Jewish state whether it........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)