Thirty-five years ago, I listened expectantly as Israeli officials repeatedly emphasized the importance of peace in the Holy Land. The occasion was my first visit to Israel in 1973. The trip was sponsored by Israel’s Ministry of Tourism as part of the nation’s 25th anniversary.
On Oct. 6 of that year, a coalition of Arab nations invaded Israel. The battle is known as the Yom Kippur War. It was a bloody war in which Israel ultimately prevailed.
In May 2000, I made my second pilgrimage to Israel, again as the guest of the Ministry of Tourism. This time, it was part of the nation’s millennium celebration. Officials talked openly about not being able to handle all the tourists “when peace breaks out” between Jews and Palestinians.
Four months later, the region was plunged into violence in the second intifada. On Sept. 28, violence spread from the Temple Mount across Old Jerusalem and the West Bank. In 2007, reports indicated 4,300 Palestinians and 1,000 Jews had died in the intifada. Officially the uprising continues but only in places like Gaza and a few other isolated spots.
In January 2008, I made my third trip to Israel as a guest of the Ministry of Tourism. During the time a group of nine editors of state Baptist papers was in the country, principals from Israel and the Palestinian Authority held their first talks about peace in the land. Reports indicate representatives talked about the core issues of borders, settlements, refugees and Jerusalem.
Israelis with whom we met were all cautiously optimistic that peace could at last be a possibility.
David Baker, a spokesman for the office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, told the editors the prolonged violence between Jews and Palestinians “is unacceptable.” He asserted that Palestinians “are as tired of this way of life” as Jews are.
“None of us want to be in the hero business,” Baker said. “We want to be in the business of leading normal kinds of lives.”
The government of Israel recognizes the need for a two-state solution to the tensions between Jews and Palestinians, he said. Baker predicted the present negotiations would “soon carve out an agreement.”
He contended that the “vast majority” of Israelis want peace and support the current peace efforts begun with an international conference in Annapolis, Md., in November 2007. “The people want us to explore the possibility and see if we can bring peace in a wise way.”
Baker said the government he represents is ready to “make painful compromises” in order to reach a peace agreement. He differed, however, with an announcement made by President George W. Bush the previous week.
Bush said the envisioned state for Palestinians would be “contiguous,” not like “Swiss cheese.” Baker said the Israeli government is prepared to give up areas of the West Bank that are sparsely populated by Jews but areas containing large clusters of Jews would remain under Israeli control.
He was also adamant that Palestinian refugees would not be allowed to return to Israel.
“We are willing to take risks in order to achieve peace,” Baker said. “We are not willing to act recklessly.”
Whether Israel will find peace with the Palestinian Authority this time remains to be seen. The Palestinians are in the midst of a violent struggle for leadership themselves, and peace takes two willing partners.
But when peace does break out in Israel and the West Bank, it will be a blessed day for all. This is one Baptist who continues to pray for what the Bible calls “the peace of Jerusalem.”
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