Between Mumbai and Tel Aviv By Ari Shavit

Comparing the attack on Mumbai of November 26, 2008 with the attack on New York of September 11, 2001 was over the top. Hundreds of people were killed in Mumbai; thousands died in New York. Mumbai is an impoverished, terror-stricken city in the developing world; New York is the arrogant and complacent capital of the developed world. In Mumbai, two hotels and one guesthouse were hit, while in New York an iconic symbol of the West, its power and its wealth, collapsed.

In another sense, however, the comparison between November 26 and September 11 was not an exaggeration at all. In the case of both Mumbai and New York, an unprecedented combination of Islamic zealotry and destructive efficacy was revealed. In the case of both Mumbai and New York, Muslim countries allied with the West were exposed as hothouses for advanced terror. Both Mumbai 2008 and New York 2001 taught the world that below the quiet surface of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, deep and dangerous processes are taking place that could turn the world order into violent disorder....