Iranian protesters burned Obama‘s picture and the flags of American and Israel, to show their solidarity with the people of Gaza and Hamas. This behavior is not surprising. It is the culture in the Middle East. Iran supports anything anti-American and anti-Jewish. This kind of behavior also sends a message to the new American administration that dealing with them will not be easier.

All around the world, including the Arab world, people were hoping for a change in American foreign policy. But I wonder if, in the Arab world, the expectation of change is that it will be one-sided. We all hope for a break from wars, genocide, and more. In order to reach that, everybody has to make some concessions.

Hamas has taken some negative steps by accusing the new president-elect of being biased, referring to his condemnation of the Mumbai terrorist attacks. They accused the West and the US for “not doing enough” to stop Israel from committing a holocaust in Gaza.

How can we explain the burning of Obama’s picture in Iran? For a country who is willing to make peace with the West, this is not the best way to reach peace. The Arab world must understand that the change that they expect from the American administration must start by changing their attitude as well.

Burning pictures or flags won’t help their cause. As the Swahili of Tanzania say, “A distant fire does not burn.”