ISRAEL'S #1 EXPORT: When I was a kid, I thought it was Jaffa oranges. Later, I thought maybe it was something more general like scientific or medical discoveries. There are also military innovations as well.

But throughout her modern history, maybe there is a common thread that lies in a different area: 1948 and 1967, of course. And 1976 in Entebbe. And also this week at Virginia Tech in the person of Profesor Liviu Lebrescu--a kind of bravery and selflessness combined with an ability to know what is right and a willingness to stand up for it. And die for it.

It is not an image that Israel seems to export much these days. She is not known for these values the way she once was. Instead of trying to show the world how cool Israel is, how much like them she is--as the opening of Hooters in Israel clearly attests--maybe Israel should return to those roots, which of course means education.

If Muslims can so easily, and with such diligence, teach their children to hate, why can't Israel teach her children to love being a Jew in Israel. Why can't Israel inculcate those values that we admired--and made Israel the admiration of the world?

In times like these, if Israel could recapture those values and act accordingly--that would be the best Hasbarah of all.

In 2001, Edward Said wrote:

The main narrative model that dominates American thinking still seems to be Leon Uris's 1950 novel Exodus.

Israel needs to write a new narrative, with her actions.
And she badly needs new writers.

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