Imagining peace - differently

By Arie M. Kacowicz
Haaretz
Jun 21, 2024

"...Part of the confusion and the natural recoil to talking about the possibility of peace on the 'day after' the war in Gaza stems from a binary and also naïve understanding of the concept...

"Peace in its 'negative' sense - namely the absence of war, rather than of conflict - is achieved out of vested interests and a sober-eyed reading of reality. There need not be a necessary link between peace and love. Negative peace is made between enemies who reach the conclusion, after a war, out of selfish considerations, that it is in their own interests to reach a diplomatic solution. After all, war has no inherent value and it does not allow for a normal life...

"...There are moments in international relations in which a crisis can constitute an opening for a historic opportunity. The bulk of the background conditions for a process of peaceful change between Israelis and Palestinians exist already today, even if at the moment it is mainly fear and despair that prevails between them, rather than trust.

"May courageous and legitimate leaders arise, among both the Israelis and the Palestinians, who can transcend themselves and the agony of their peoples, and launch a political process after the war with massive third-party assistance. That is the life imperative for both peoples who inhabit this land, neither of which is going away."

Prof. Arie M. Kacowicz is the Chaim Weizmann Chair in International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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