Lasting Peace Between Israel and Palestine – Feasible Prospect or Foolish Quest?

Secretary of State John Kerry drew big headlines recently when he blasted the Israeli government’s announcement that it was authorizing the construction of new Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Kerry framed the action as undercutting efforts to bring lasting peace between Israel and her antagonists.

          “We cannot, in good conscience, do nothing and say nothing when we see the hope of peace slipping away,” Kerry said.

There is an assumption in that attitude shared by many Americans, both inside and outside government, that peace in that part of the world is achievable if the parties would only try harder.

We Americans tend to believe that objectives can be reached and success attained as long as we persist in our efforts.  If thwarted, that merely means that we need to try harder.  That, after all, is one of our most powerful national characteristics and is why we lead the world in so many ways.  We don’t give up. 

But the Middle East is not populated by Americans, and its peoples do not share our attitudes.  Hatreds span thousands of years, not mere hundreds, and the passage of time does little to dim vile memories (remember Osama Bin Laden’s reference to 11^th - 13^th century Christian crusades?).

Does that mean that it’s terribly naïve of us to think that the absence of permanent peace between the Palestinians and Israel is due to a deficiency of effort?  Perhaps peace is unattainable because neither side wants it.

Some Palestinian leaders have given lip-service to a renunciation of pledges to destroy Israel (although Hamas leaders in Gaza persist in their commitment).  Yet Palestinian schools on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip continue to educate their youth that the existence of Israel is an abomination and that its Jewish occupants are despicable creatures. 

So it’s fair to say that the Palestinians’ true quest remains the same:  peace after the demise of Israel.

From an Israeli perspective, considering the Palestinian hostility, the prospect of lasting peace is an illusion.  The vulnerable size of the country (30 miles wide at its narrowest point) and isolation in a veritable sea of Arabs means that the prospect of national extinction is a constant concern.  The anxiety is heightened by awareness of past failures of accommodations to bring a long-term relaxation of tensions (for instance, “land for peace” and removal of Jewish settlements from Gaza in 2005).  Even if Palestinians were to experience a wide-spread epiphany and accept Israel’s national presence, the latter’s citizens would have good cause, given recent history, to be suspicious.

Recognizing what is achievable – and what is not – is a sign of personal and national maturity.

If peace in the Middle East is not attainable in the foreseeable future, the consequences and guide for American policy are straightforward.  Stand by Israel (but make clear that the stance does not connote hostility to Palestinians as such - only their refusal to accept Israel as a neighbor, as Egypt and Jordan have already done).

For Israel to survive, can it do other than maintain its guard into the indefinite future and hope that eventually Palestinian hostility will evaporate?  Of course, the former can be accomplished with Israeli commitment and, unavoidably it seems, American support. 

Maybe there is no realistic alternative to the maintenance of a state of constant readiness, but can the Israeli determination to persevere survive without the hope for a miraculous peace?  Well, it’s the Holy Land, after all.