So many naifs ask “Why don’t Arab countries accept more refugees?” as if being Arab constitutes an identity in & of itself & creates bonds of solidarity.
In a more sophisticated, comprehensive version, that was the basis of pan-Arabism or Arab nationalism which long ago proved itself insufficient as ideology or strategy. There is no identity of interests between the Saudi & other Arab monarchies, the Egyptian military junta, & the working people & small farmers in those countries. If there is one thing the Arab Spring made clear, it is that distinction between oppressor & oppressed.