Yeah, I suppose it's naieve to hope for peace. The reality is that people will keep killing each other in the name of their precious justice. There are no "right" sides in the conflict in Israel/Palestine. The Jewish people have a historic claim on the land, and so have the Arabs.

The current reality is that both peoples live on the land, and they have to find a way to live on the same land without killing each other. Each side has a different view of "justice." I think they need to forsake their claim for justice for past offenses, and find a way to live in peace in the future. If retribution is justice, then I believe that both sides have had more than their share. The Middle East view of justice is that the combatants kill a number of noncombatants, and claim they deserved to do it in the name of justice. the ones who get killed rarely had done wrong to anyone, and the guilty ones invariably escape to kill again (or get elected to political office).

I was in Israel in November, 1999, and it was a delightful place. People in the streets seemed to be having a good time of life. There were only limited signs of tension in Nazareth (Israel), and in Bethlem and Jericho in Palestine. Arabs and Jews seemed to get along reasonably well. It seemed to me that it was possible that both peoples could live in peace and have a good life - but then, I did not visit the West Bank and Gaza.

Some of you may know a friend of mine named Bob Fitch. Bob went to Israel and Palestine in July of last year, and had a totally different experience - so now I don't know what to think.

I grew up an admirer of Israel, Ben Gurion, and especially Golda Meir. Israel was a place of hope for people who had suffered so terribly during the Holocaust, and it was one place in the world where Democratic Socialism actually seemed to work. There were a few wars, but they were nice, clean ones that Israel won quickly with little bad press. I guess I didn't really think about the concerns of the Palestinians.

Then came the 1980's, and it seemed the right wingers had conqured the world - Germany, the US, Great Britain, and even Israel. All of a sudden, it was once again fashionable to wage war to protect the interests of rich people (as if that had ever gone out of fashion). A side effect, I suppose, was that the Palestinians realized that they had no hope under Israeli rule, so they started to fight back - and they actually gained a number of concessions.

Now we have the New Millennium, the new Age of the Warmongers. Now it's fashionable to wage war for "justice," whatever that is. The trouble is, when both sides see their position as just, how can anyone have moral superiority?

I know peace is an unrealistic goal - but is the alternative any more realistic? I'm disillusioned with Israel, and I'm disillusioned with the Palestinians - but I still believe that peace is the only answer.

-Joe Offer-