There's certainly more to say about this. Yet I focus on the medievalism vs modernity angle because it explains why I don't care so much about this issue. There are structural asymmetries that account for why the situation in the Middle East won't change much in our lifetimes.

A country can be modern in some respects and not in others. It's not black or white but a continuum. The Arab world overall is far less modern than Israel in terms of classic liberalism (freedom of thought, including the skepticism that supports scientific and technological progress, and freedom of the press), secularism, and democracy. Perhaps the Arab world (such as Lebanon) has adopted the worst of modernity, namely laissez-faire capitalism, which sits well with neofeudalism and corrupt plutocracy. If only they'd adopted the best of it.