There has been no capital where the shock of events in Egypt has been felt more than that of Israel. The impact is noticeable in a much less strident, more conciliatory tone from Israeli government spokespeople.
For all its faults and in spite of the obduracy of recent years, Israel is a democracy and, because of this, it has the flexibility within its society to adapt very quickly to change. For many reasons, most historic and some almost pre-historic, the Israeli people have for too long favoured aggressive governments with a narrow focus, unable to see their hands in front of their faces, hell bent on provocation and trouble. This in turn has brought to the fore all the very worst aspects of the Jewish character, leaving its vastly higher qualities based on the best human ideals and aspirations, somewhere in the background. All peoples have bad aspects. They do best when they leave these out back and bring their best to the front.
Change is coming to the middle east, but in a way few foresaw. The Arab people are discovering that they need no longer accept autocracy or dictatorship as the only form of government and with dramatic outcomes thus far they have taken matters into their own hands to show the force in the modern world of integrated people power. There is more of this to come. With it will come the realisation that democracy and freedom brings with it opportunity for economic advancement for everyone and responsibility of governments to deliver this. Democracy brings expectation and expectation is the driver of fair and good government. It will also reveal that there is more to governing that trying to think up ways to get rid of Israel.
All of this provides everyone in the middle east with the best opportunity since at least the end of the second world war for emancipation and prosperity. It also provides a new dynamic, where the old tensions no longer bind everyone in the knots of traditional enmity. If Israel can rise to this unexpected occasion, it may find it too is liberated by the the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. Liberated from fear.