Think
about
the
wars
that
Israel
has
had
with
its
neighbors.
The
first
war
was
in
1948,
when
Israel
came
to
exist. Virtually
the
entire
Arab
world
took
up
arms. But
Israel
won
its
War
for
Independence,
or
“nakbah,”
the
disaster,
depending
on
whose
point
of
view
you
take,
in
a
little
over
a
year. President
Truman
supported
Israel
diplomatically. The
war
ended
with
the
signing
of
the
1949
Armistice
Agreement.
Peace! It
was
sure
to
last
forever.
Or
perhaps
peace
would
last
until
1956,
when
Egypt
nationalized
the
Suez
Canal,
and
Israel
invaded
the
Sinai. Israel
captured
the
Sinai
and
continued
to
hold
it
after
the
ceasefire. Ultimately,
under
pressure
from
President
Dwight
Eisenhower,
Israel
withdrew
from
Egypt. Good
idea,
Ike!
That’ll
guarantee
peace
—
which
was
sure
to
last
forever.
Or
at
least
until
1967,
when
Egypt
blockaded
the
Straits
of
Tiran. How
long
do
you
suppose
it
took
Israel
to
win
the
Six-Day
War? After
the
war
ended,
President
Lyndon
Johnson
began
strengthening
the
political
and
military
ties
between
the
United
States
and
Israel. Good
idea,
LBJ!
Peace!
It
was
sure
to
last
forever.
Or
at
least
until
Yom
Kippur
in
1973,
when
the
Arab
states
launched
a
surprise
attack
to
try
to
take
back
the
territory
that
Israel
had
won
during
the
Six-Day
War.
Israel
repelled
the
attack. President
RichardNixon
ordered
an
emergency
airlift
of
military
aid
to
Israel,
and
Henry
Kissinger
engaged
in
“shuttle
diplomacy”
to
lay
the
groundwork
for
future
peace.
Ah
…
great
peacemakers
like
Nixon
and
Kissinger. I’m
sure
the
peace
would
last
forever.
To
guarantee
that
the
peace
actually
lasted,
President
Jimmy
Carter
initiated
12
days
of
secret
negotiations
at
Camp
David,
which
resulted
in
the
Camp
David
Accords
of
1978. Egyptian
President
Anwar
Sadat
and
Israeli
Prime
Minister
Menachem
Begin
ultimately
signed
an
Egypt-Israel
peace
treaty,
for
which
they
both
received
the
Nobel
Peace
Prize.
The
Nobel
Peace
Prize! As
I
recall,
Carter
whined
publicly
that
the
Nobel
Committee
had
given
the
prize
to
Sadat
and
Begin,
when
it
was
actually
Carter
who
deserved
it.
Thin-skinned
Democrats!
The
peace
between
Egypt
and
Israel
has
in
fact
been
enduring,
but
peace
among
the
rest
of
the
crowd
in
the
Middle
East
has
been
harder
to
come
by.
In
1982,
the
Palestine
Liberation
Organization
attacked
northern
Israel
from
Lebanon. Israel
expelled
the
PLO
from
Beirut.
President
Ronald
Reagan
sent
U.S.
troops
as
part
of
a
peacekeeping
force. The
Marines
stayed
put
until
the
bombing
of
the
Beirut
barracks
in
1983,
when
the
U.S.
withdrew.
Oh,
well.
No
lasting
peace
there.
The
Palestinian
uprising
that
was
the
First
Intifada
lasted
for
six
years,
from
1987
to
1993. That
led
to
international
efforts
for
peace.
President
George
H.W.
Bush
facilitated
the
Madrid
Conference,
which
were
the
first
direct
talks
between
Israel
and
the
Arab
states.
Good
idea! Lasting
peace!
Until
the
Second
Intifada,
which
started
in
2000. President
Bill
Clinton
hosted
the
Camp
David
Summit,
and
President
George
W.
Bush
introduced
the
Road
Map
for
Peace,
which
was
supported
by
the
European
Union,
Russia,
and
the
United
Nations.
That’s
a
lot
of
international
support. Finally,
lasting
peace!
Until
the
Gaza
Wars
of
—
take
a
breath
—
2008,
2012,
2014,
2021,
and
2023
to
2024. President
Barack
Obama
called
for
ceasefires;
President
Donald
Trump
recognized
Jerusalem
as
Israel’s
capital
and
helped
to
negotiate
the
Abraham
Accords
between
Israel
and
certain
Arab
states;
President
Joe
Biden
advocated
ceasefires.
That’s
a
lot
of
presidential
brainpower: A
winner
of
the
Nobel
Peace
Prize,
a
very
stable
genius,
and
an
autopen. Surely
it
led
to
lasting
peace!
Oops!
On
October
7,
2023,
Hamas
launched
the
most
recent
massive
attack
on
Israel. President
Biden
worked
with
Egypt
and
Qatar
to
secure
the
release
of
hostages
and
a
potential
ceasefire. His
efforts
worked
in
the
short
term,
but
nothing
permanent
came
of
it.
Until
now!
President
Trump
has
announced
his
20-point
plan
for
lasting
peace
in
the
Middle
East.
Unlike
all
those
earlier
failed
peace
efforts,
Trump
did
what
was
necessary
this
time
around:
He
summoned
leaders
from
all
around
the
world
to
come
to
Israel
and
tell
Trump
how
great
he
is! Why
didn’t
any
of
those
other
American
presidents
recognize
that
this
was
the
only
way
to
secure
lasting
peace
in
the
Middle
East?
Now
that
all
those
other
leaders
have
sucked
up
to
Trump,
lasting
peace
is
guaranteed!
Look.
I
acknowledge
what
Trump
has
achieved:
The
release
of
the
last
of
the
living
hostages;
a
promise
to
release
the
remains
of
the
dead;
a
ceasefire
in
the
region
and
a
withdrawal
of
some
Israeli
troops. That’s
not
a
bad
start. Good
for
Trump.
And
there’s
been
peace
for
damn
near
a
week
now.
But
I’ll
bet
the
mortgage
that
this
is
not
a
lasting
peace
in
the
Middle
East. Hamas
has
not
disarmed
or
said
that
it
will. There’s
no
real
plan
for
the
future
of
Palestine. And
Trump
seems
more
interested
in
receiving
a
prize
than
doing
the
work
needed
to
build
lasting
peace.
This
is
the
one
time
when
I’m
delighted
that
Trump
will
still
be
president
for
the
next
3
1/2
years. That
way,
when
the
peace
blows
up,
Trump
will
still
be
at
the
helm. Trump
won’t
be
able
to
blame
the
new
war
on
JD
Vance,
or
Gavin
Newsom,
or
whoever
Trump’s
successor
will
be.
No,
no,
no.
Trump
will
realize
that
his
plan
was
no
better
than
plans
that
had
been
proposed
in
the
past,
and
Trump
will
take
the
blame
for
the
failure.
Just
kidding.
The
failure
of
this
peace
plan
—
which
will
occur
on
Trump’s
watch
—
will
be
the
fault
of
Hamas,
or
Benjamin
Netanyahu,
or
some
splinter
group
within
the
Gaza
Strip,
or
the
Palestinian
Authority,
or
that
fool
Tony
Blair,
or
maybe
you
or
me.
But
don’t
blame
Donald
Trump.
He,
unlike
every
previous
American
president,
has
secured
lasting
peace
in
the
Middle
East.
This
one
is
forever.
Give
the
man
a
Nobel
Peace
Prize
and
set
down
your
arms.
At
last.
Mark Herrmann spent
17
years
as
a
partner
at
a
leading
international
law
firm
and
later
oversaw
litigation,
compliance
and
employment
matters
at
a
large
international
company.
He
is
the
author
of The
Curmudgeon’s
Guide
to
Practicing
Law and Drug
and
Device
Product
Liability
Litigation
Strategy (affiliate
links).
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected].