The Israel-Palestine conflict has festered for 66 years. There are Palestinians who wish to push the Israelis into the sea or rule over them, and there are Israelis who wish to push the Palestinians over the Jordan River or rule over them, but they are a minority. The majority on both sides accepts that the other side will not go away, yet they have been unable to reach peace. There have been endless recriminations to explain this failure, but the bottom line is that the price of compromise is high enough and the level of trust low enough that they and their leaders have been unable to reach peace.
The price of failure, Secretary of State John Kerry has recently told us, is disastrous. Looking just at the consequences for Israel, we see that the dream in the heart of Israel — a Jewish, democratic state — cannot survive this failure. And we see that the occupation is driving Israel into an ever greater international isolation that she cannot afford. No barrier wall can prevent these disasters.
Yet peace is achievable. President Barack Obama and Secretary Kerry are making a huge effort to facilitate that peace. They need and deserve our full support.
Jack Alexander
Poestenkill