Jerusalem Olympics 2048

I'm just not convinced how such mega-products can spur equitable change in the city. It seems that all other cities which have hosted the Olympics inevitably end up with a substantial fraction of their investment wasted. Who are the actual beneficiaries/participants? Maybe by hosting the Games international attention would spur the city to face some of its other issues, but I doubt it.. more likely they'd just try to make some nice green-grass medians and flower strips, and be left with rusting stadiums.

One evening I looked at a map of Israel and I realized that the combined colors of the flags of Israel and the Palestine Authority were just about the same as those of the Olympic rings.

So?

There were many news stories questioning whether Athens, Greece would have its infrastructure ready for its Olympics. Even the International Olympic Committee wondered aloud whether future Games would need to be regional, in order for multiple countries to absorb the multi-billion dollar costs.

So - what if, someday, somehow, Jerusalem could host the Summer Olympics, with all of the surrounding nations hosting key elements of the Games?
 What if the opening and closing ceremonies could be held in Jerusalem, with
 Lebanon, long known as a tourist destination, taking charge of the hospitality?
 The Palestinian Authority recognizing the tourism possibilities, and arranging extensive tours of Biblical sites within its areas?
 Egypt hosting some of the water events?
 Saudi Arabia leading the equestrian events, in honor of its namesake horse breed?
 Imagine a spectacular marathon run from an archeological site in Jordan into Israel -

Impossible! Preposterous! There’s a war going on, terrorists and dictators destroying everything they touch. The current proposals for peace are tired and obsolete - “land for peace” results in more bombs, ever closer to all parts of Israel; “ceasefires” are hudnas, opportunities for re-armament for terrorists; international peacekeeping forces are toothless, unable and/or unwilling to do anything more than watch war preparations with binoculars. We need something different.

So - it would take perhaps 2 generations - 40-50 years - before such a Games could happen. But think of the consequences of even the preparation; we’ve seen it with each Games:
 The host country upgrades all of its infrastructure - roads and all methods of transportation, housing, communications, utilities;
 People worldwide watch, or better yet visit and participate in a spectacle that [generally] shows the best of human competition and cooperation.

Think of some of the current problems of the Middle East, and how such a regional Games might help:
 Most Arab countries suffer from high unemployment rates, a dictatorial ruling class, high poverty rates, little or no middle class. They have high numbers of young males, many educated with college degrees and nothing to do. Idle hands are the Devil’s, the saying goes, and such people are ready prey for extreme, violent talk that blames “the other” and promises a quick fix for what appears to be a future of little hope.
 Building and upgrading a country’s infrastructure requires workers of all skills and levels, and many would need to be engineers, architects, construction workers, communications technicians, translators, electricians, plumbers, and many other professions that make up the middle classes throughout the world. The Arab host countries could create and/or enhance a middle class that would in turn help those nations for generations after the Games.

Think of human nature. We are all competitive to varying degrees. Competitions are won in 2 ways - everyone competes to the best of his or her ability, and one simply proves better than the rest; or, someone sabotages the competition and hopes to be the last one left standing. War is the extreme example of the second type of competition; the Olympics usually highlight the first type. What if we could channel the basic human competitive desire toward the better type? What if each nation, as it agreed to take responsibility for key elements of the Games, said, “We’ll prove to the rest of the world that we can do this part better than anyone!” With their reputations on the line, they would succeed.

We are all persuaded by the same means - most powerfully by a two-pronged approach: first we must be convinced that our current thinking or way of doing things is wrong or bad or just not the best, and second, we must be convinced that another alternative is better. Worldwide, the Jihadis offer no alternatives; they emphasize and demonstrate destruction. It’s no accident that terrorists have tried to blow up newly [re]built schools, clinics, hospitals, shops; they know nothing else. The Olympics are that something else. The pride and energy that such an overarching project would require could literally steamroll the Jihadist philosophy into oblivion.

The current Olympic charter demands that just one nation host the Olympics, but I think this variation could work much better -

Thoughts?