Tzipi Livni is nothing if not ambitious. The presence this week of Israel's foreign minister at an international conference in Qatar, in the heart of the Arab world, was remarkable enough by itself. Israel's leaders rarely venture so far into the "enemy camp". Rarer still is the sort of generous welcome afforded her by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
But Livni, often tipped as a future prime minister, was aiming higher than a mere courtesy call. Dialogue must become the norm if Israel and Arab "moderates" were jointly to overcome shared problems in the Middle East, she said. "We hope others will follow the example of Qatar ... To the Arab states of our region, we extend our hand in friendship."
In an occasionally impassioned speech at the Doha forum on democracy, development and free trade, Livni argued countries faced a common threat from extremists who refused to recognise "our" democratic rights. "When I say 'our', I mean the rights of Israelis, moderate Palestinians, moderate Arab and pragmatic Muslim regimes alike."
Aiming at Hamas, she said the international community should adopt a universal code governing participation in future elections. "This code requires that all those seeking the legitimacy of a democratic process earn it by respecting such principles as state monopoly over the lawful use of force, the rejection of racism and violence, and the protection of the rights of others."
Livni's remarks, and her insistence that peace with the Palestinians was a "strategic objective", were received in total silence. That may be because some Iranians and Syrians boycotted the conference or walked out before she spoke. It may have been because much of the audience was momentarily stunned by what it plainly saw as sheer effrontery.
But then the questions from the floor began. How could Livni reconcile respect for others' rights with the "collective punishment" currently being visited upon the residents of Gaza (where violence has sharply escalated this week)? Israel had voluntarily vacated Gaza and been repaid with terror, she said. "We are trying to target terrorists. The terrorists are looking for civilians to kill."
Livni's appeal for the release of three Israeli soldiers brought a similarly robust response. What about the hundreds of Palestinians detained in Israel's jails, one questioner asked. That was different, she replied. "They are held under our legal system which is highly respected." How could she claim Israel "poses no threat to the stability and peace of the region" when it frequently reacted "disproportionately", as with its 2006 invasion of Lebanon? That was a good example of an Arab government failing to rein in extremists, in this case Hizbullah, she suggested.
The questions kept coming. How could she maintain that Israel rejected racism when it defined itself as a Jewish state? That inevitably led Livni to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's threat to "wipe Israel off the map". "I hope you recognise our right to exist," she said pointedly.
And how could she say, Bush-like, that the problems of the region simply boiled down to a battle against extremism, a young man at the back demanded. "I think of myself as a moderate but I still can't accept Israel as it is now," he said to applause.
Livni battled through it all, speaking in English, sometimes reacting sharply, sometimes almost pleading for greater understanding. It was brave in a way. But if her ambitious objective was to change minds and alter perceptions, success probably eluded her. And subsequent Gaza bloodshed will almost certainly have undone any good she did.
As Livni departed amid a jostling throng of Arab photographers and reporters, the question not asked was whether she, rather than her audience, had learned from the experience. If anything her appearance underlined how isolated and out of touch Israelis can be with the fast-changing neighbourhood they have lived in, more or less walled off, for 60 years next month. Oil and gas-rich Qatar, the world's fastest growing economy, is a jaw-dropping case in point.
According to Barak Ravid, a Ha'aretz journalist, a wide-eyed Livni was privately almost overwhelmed by Qatar's "unbelievable" affluence. "I'm used to reading about these things in secret memos and suddenly I had the chance to see it with my own eyes," she told him. "I don't want to gossip but it was astonishing," she said, following lunch at the royal palace with the emir and his wife.
Livni's unguarded reaction suggests that in two worlds that rarely touch, more human contact would be highly beneficial. Her official verdict on the visit - "real progress has been made" - was infinitely less convincing.
Simon Tisdall