Ceasefire

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil.  But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good.  We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children."  - Jimmy Carter

Along with much of the rest of the world, I've been holding my breath the last couple of weeks while I've watched events unfold in the Middle East.  It was with relief that I received the news yesterday that the Israelis and the Palestinians of Gaza had agreed to a ceasefire. Let's hope it holds.  I was bemused this morning by the headline in today's Toronto Star:  "Both sides claim victory in ceasefire".  It's a well done mediation that makes both sides think they've won.

I don't know what the solution is to the conflict that has gone on for so many years between the Israelis and their Arab neighbours.  I can't even pretend that I understand all the root causes of the conflict or the multi-faceted history of how the Middle East got to be the unholy mess it is today.  But I do know that somehow, in some way, the whole world needs a solution to this conflict.  Every flare-up of tensions there, sends the rest of us into angst. 

I do know the solution can't be war.  Even the victors don't win in a war.  The Israelis need to feel safe.  The Palestinians need to feel hopeful.  A lasting peace is going to require that both sides feel like winners.  I'll keep praying.