Hamas cannot make peace with the Israelis. That is against what their God tells them. It is impossible to make peace with infidels, only a ceasefire.
The U.S. cannot force Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds to make peace or to act for the common good. They have been in conflict for 1,400 years.
If Israel does not find the way to disengage from the Palestinians, its future might resemble the experience of Belfast or Bosnia - two communities bleeding each other to death for generations.
It is not Islam the religion that is generating discord. Rather the problem is a deep disagreement among Muslims over the degree to which Islam ought to shape the laws and institutions of society…. the ongoing competition over what constitutes good public order has polarized them, creating vicious enmities that resist compromise.
Two children of same cruel parent look at one another and see in each other the image of the cruel parent or the image of their past oppressor. This is very much the case between Jew and Arab: It's a conflict between two victims.
In Israel, there is this reduction of the political discourse to something that is very limited. It's as if you have that pitch that only dogs can hear. Sometimes I feel I speak at such a pitch that very few people around me communicate with what I'm saying.
If God, as some now say, is dead, He no doubt died of trying to find an equitable solution to the Arab-Jewish problem.
Partisanship has gotten worse and worse.
The Palestinians have never lost an opportunity to lose an opportunity.
It seems to me we have been in a rhetorical arms race in this country, with each side unwilling to lay down its weapons for fear - usually justified - the other side would beat them to a pulp.
Israel is a piece of real estate that neither Jew or Arab will let go of; neither will leave these shores. And so they will have to learn to live together.
What passes for real debate in Washington often seems more like an echo chamber, with politicians talking at politicians.
If you characterize the political opposition as evil, there is no way you can compromise with them. There is no way that you can have a drink with them
