Five minutes of hope

Editorial

For less than 48 hours, a ray of hope shines on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At Aqaba, Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas issue statements to begin the peace process once again.

But then:

June 6: Negotiations between Hamas and Abbas break down; Hamas leaders state Abbas has failed the Palestinian people by calling for an end of the uprising and showing compassion for Jewish suffering.
June 8: A coordinated attack by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade kills four Israeli soldiers in Gaza. Another attack kills one Israeli soldier in Hebron.
June 9: Israel begins the dismantling of 14 unauthorized - mostly uninhabited - outposts in the West Bank.
June 9: Abbas stresses he is committed to making peace with Israel but without using force to disarm Hamas.
June 10: Israeli helicopters target Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi with seven rockets; two people are killed and 27 wounded, including Rantisi, who was hospitalized.
June 11: A Hamas terrorist dressed as an ultra-Orthodox Jew blows himself up on a bus in downtown Jerusalem, killing at least 16 and wounding more than 60.
June 11: An Israeli helicopter fires missiles at a car in Gaza, possibly targeting Hamas military official, Tito Massoud; at least six are killed.
June 11: Sharon says Israel will continue to target terrorists while making every effort to pursue peace with the Palestinians.

Any hope for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, at least in the near term, has been extinguished. The sound of deadly explosions has shattered conciliatory words. And Israeli and Palestinian civilians continue to pay the price as the bloody, protracted war stumbles into its 33rd month.

Brinkmanship defeated

A handful of lawyers attempted to hijack a continuing legal education seminar at this week's Arizona State Bar Convention. They intended to use a World Peace Through Law Section "education" session as a podium to preach their anti-Israel, anti-Zionist rhetoric.

Another handful of lawyers, alarmed at the inflammatory nature of pre-session handouts, argued that the bar convention is neither the time nor the place for an attack against Israel and supporters of Israel.

The bar is to be commended for listening to feedback, attempting to achieve a compromise, and when this was not possible, canceling the session.

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