Peace

Peace. The Israelis and Palestinians as well as most of the Mideast are in peace talks and reportedly everyone wants Peace. It reminds me of a Beauty Pageant with every contestant wishing for World Peace. But what is Peace? Chamberlain and Hitler both proclaimed peace in our time in 1938 only to see the world's most deadly war break out less than a year later. Chamberlain did not want to go to war and Hitler wanted Czechoslavakia. They both got what they wanted but it was an instable peace. Pacifists say if all of us would only put down our arms and put out our arms to welcome one another, all would be well. But if the past is any indication, world bullies and terrorists would gladly welcome such a situation as they would readily take advantage of an arms-free (except for theirs) world.
We should ask ourselves what does Peace mean to the various members of the peace talks? For Israel, peace means being able to co-exist with its neighbors without the pretext of war. Sounds reasonable right? To many Palestinians and Arabs, peace means having a Mideast without an Jewish state. Three times before, the world has offered Palestinians a state of their own and each time they have wanted the whole thing, both their and Jewish lands. Will they again?
It is up to the Palestinians if Peace is to be achieved. And compromise must be in order. We will see.