A few weeks ago, Israel deliberately let a group of Eritrean refugees almost die of thirst and hunger inside its own territory, stranded between border fences in plain view of its soldiers who were under strict orders not to offer any assistance, only limited amounts of water. The government has made clear its hostility to this recent wave of African refugees, and is building large “internment” camps for them. This comes on top of news of fiercely criticizes “Palestinians only” buses to take workers from Palestinian camps to their place of work. (Adapted from news comments on the Jewish Voice for Peace website).

The treatment of non-Jews is driven by the right-wing religious parties. In today’s New York Times, David Brooks, a most civilised commentator, talks about the “moral code” of the growing Orthodox community in the US, and its “decent society”. It is hard to square this with religion-driven trends in Israel, which claims to be the shining light of the Middle East.

Epicureans believe in making honourable peace between opponents. They believe that it is impossible to live decently without ataraxia, and you cannot have ataraxia if you refuse to compromise. By now Israel would be dominating the Middle East economically had the religious moderated their demands and been pragmatic. Epicureans have strong beliefs about treatment of others, but in the main they are pragmatists.