November 6, 1998/ 17 Cheshvan 5759, Vol. 51, No. 7
Wye knotEditorialNasty problems among people living on the shores of the Mediterranean and in the surrounding mountains surely predate recorded history. Like the proverbial Gordian knot, they have tended to be addressed more often by drastic action than by thoughtful dialogue and patient resolve.The Wye River Accord is proof of what can happen by bringing sworn enemies to the table with the goal of compromising conflicting views in the interest of peace. The document signed Oct. 23 by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton promises to be an important step toward that end. Yet the obstacles to implementing the accord are daunting. Steps to be taken will shatter the day-to-day routine of thousands of residents living and working in the territory that Israel has agreed to turn over to the Palestinians. Families will be forced to move, and villages and moshavim (settlements) connected to one another by a labyrinth of snaking roads will need to provide increased security for their residents. At every step along the way, the process will be threatened by hostility expressed through silent avoidance, strained meetings, shouted insults and horrific acts of terrorism. Tense handshakes and grim smiles at the peace table notwithstanding, there is only so much the leaders can do. The ultimate responsibility for implementing the accord belongs to the people most intimately affected - the men, women and children who live in neighboring communities, work and shop side by side and use the same services. They alone can set aside the hostilities of their parents and grandparents, temper their rhetoric and adopt common courtesy toward one another. They alone can choose to come together to establish an atmosphere in which their children can grow and thrive. By refusing to harbor and encourage the animosity that is their common enemy, they alone can begin painstakingly to unravel the knots of their differences, thread by thread by thread. |
