The Quixotic Quest for an Israel/Palestine Peace Agreement

The Trump Administration’s pledge to transfer the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem generated a firestorm of protests from American liberals, the United Nations and, of course, the so-called Arab world which warned of widespread violence (which largely failed to materialize).

So why the heated reaction?  The implicit U.S. recognition of Jerusalem – a site considered holy by the world’s three major religions – was viewed as a hindrance to efforts to fashion a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

But common sense and history strongly indicate that the prospect – entertained by previous Republican and Democratic Administrations alike – is an illusion.

This past fall, The Sensible Conservative spent two weeks in Israel and toured major Israeli cities, including Jerusalem.  To be sure, it was a brief visit – my first – but long enough to know that the two peoples live very  much apart.  The interaction seemed limited to commercial contact.

I did have occasion to spend time with an Israeli who’d lived there for over fifty years (his family emigrated from Iraq).  He was proud, indeed, of his country and deeply suspicious of the Palestinians and their allies.  Having lived for most of his life on a kibbutz near the Jordan River, he remembers keenly the artillery shells that rained down on the area before the “Six Day War” (1967) from the Arab-held Golan Ridge towering above. 

He assured me that most Israelis felt the same way.

I did not have a similar conversation with an Arab Palestinian but their views are hardly hidden.  The hatred is intense and has not diminished over the seventy years since Israel’s modern nationhood.

Hammas lobs rockets from Gaza frequently into Israel and calls for the elimination of that nation.  The Palestinian Liberation Organization controls Arab areas in the West Bank and “recognizes” Israel’s right to exist.  Yet its internal propaganda paints Jews as despicable creatures.  Further, Palestinians killing Israel citizens in terrorist attacks are termed martyrs by the PLO and their families receive cash rewards.

Perhaps, in generations to come, the mutual hatred between the Israelis and Palestinians will dissipate to the extent that genuine peace is a reasonable prospect.

That time is not now and it is foolish – even dangerous – to think otherwise.