Encouraging destiny

The tragic events in the Holy Land once again prove right those who claim that “until everything changes, nothing changes”. For over half a century, the Middle East and with it the entire planet have been witnessing turmoil and suffering in the expectation of a definitive and peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The see-saw conflict and negotiation trend continues at a steady pace leading to the asphyxia of the peace process. It’s a dog chasing its tail in a cul de sac! This is why something is rotten in the peace process, and something is rotten in its protagonists. Thus an objective analysis cannot rule out the possibility that a long-lasting peace agreement would go against the interests of more than one of the too numerous parties at stake. To the surprise of many, in 1994 the Nobel Academy in Oslo decided to award the Noble Prize for Peace to Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin and to the leader of the then Organization for the Liberation of Palestine Yasser Arafat. These figures were no lambs indeed. Seen through the lenses of history their deeds appear miles away from those of Saint Francis or Mother Teresa. However, the Nobel Peace Award was an initiative marked by symbolism and hope, aimed at deposing weapons, overcoming hatred and establishing coexistence. The tragic aftermath is well known: Rabin was murdered (by Israeli hands) and Arafat was neutralized (by “his folks”), to the total inaction of the International Community. History repeats itself. In the past, diplomatic envoys from the United States, the Soviet Union and from the more moderate areas of the Arab world (Europe was completely absent) endeavoured to contain the haemorrhage with a band-aid. However, behind the innocent shoulders of the Palestinian population with no land, and of the Israeli people with no safe borders, the do ut des of arm trade, diamonds and oil, and the illegal economic support to terrorist organizations persisted. At present, the Bush-Obama and Putin-Medvedev couples, the leaders of Hamas, Iran and Syria, blinded by komehinistic and alqaedistic views of the Koran, along with the bloodthirsty Government of Tel Aviv, are all playing the same game. With the sole difference of the presence – ephemeral, until otherwise proven – of Nicolas Sarkozy (and not of Europe as a Union, whose policy is based on financing unknown recipients) who seeks to alleviate the agonizing body of the peace process with palliative treatments. After fifty years of war and hatred, any solution imposed from the outside is no longer realistic. Nor will it ever be possible to turn a new page while bombs are being launched by one side and terror attacks are being carried out by the other. Israel’s uncalled-for display of force and Hamas’ negation of democracy prove – to those who hadn’t yet realized – that the castes that govern the two factions don’t augur peace in the Holy Land. Business politics’ influence is still too strong. You cannot serve God and Mammon. Each action conceals the will for inaction, each attempt is a farce. This doesn’t mean surrender. It would be a defeat for humanity. The solution to conflicts and differences between Peoples and Nations requires a long amount of time. There are endless examples that are under everyone’s eyes to see. In Europe peace reigns among its States since only sixty years! Europeans reached a solution almost by chance. The same could be said about the American Revolution, the apartheid in South Africa or the disputes between China and Japan. This is also the destiny of the Middle East, this is the destiny of the People of Israel and Palestine! However destiny needs to be encouraged. Persuading the parties to peace and fraternity is the duty of those in positions of political responsibility and moral stature, in all the corners of the planet: Europe first of all. By observing the facts, what each one of us can do is to pray God to be merciful towards His sons and to shed light upon those who are in need of enlightenment.