Not all tribes are equally tribal.

Fair point. Although I thought I had alluded that strongly by describing Israelis unique democratic status in the region.

I humbly ask Ricky if perhaps somewhere, some time, in an effort to explore how Arabs might benefit themselves by living more peacefully in proximity to each other and to non-Arabs, we might be able to use the word without being reminded that Arabs aren't the only folks who belong to tribes?

Well, since your being humble for a change...
One thing I give George Bush enormous credit for is that he promoted liberal democracy as a road to peace. Liberal democratic institutions breed tolerance and acceptance. It is indeed the reason why Israel is not "tribal" the way Arabs are. However within Arab nations, because they are without a history of liberal democracy, people cannot discern the important difference between the tribe of Israel...and the nation of Israel. I know that you all see an enormous diference there, I less so perhaps because I value religion less as an identity than many of you I suppose, but for Arabs without a grounding that distinction must be very hard to understand.
Perhaps the Palestinians, with their more integrated culture and with the proximity to the nation of Israel, are acquiring this sense of the requirements for a successful liberal democracy.
If the Arab Awakening succeeds in launching more liberal democracies I believe there is real hope for the region. Because tribalism will diminish as an influence, perhaps eventually to where it is in Western Democracies. To where the tribes we belong to have less importance to our identity than the whole society within which we live.