"Have You Got Any News of the Iceberg?"

On May 24, 2000, I wrote a column for The Christian Century magazine reflecting on yet another "peace agreement" between Palestine and Israel. I wrote that to the U.S. government, then led by President Bill Clinton, the impending agreement "will appear fair and just, at long last bringing security to Israel and a truncated state to the Palestinians."

I began the May 24, 2000, column this way:

"Family members gather in a Liverpool hotel ballroom to learn the fate of loved ones who were traveling on the Titanic. Everyone is frantically seeking information on survivors. Suddenly an old polar bear walks into the room. He looks sad, and there is a tear in his eye as he asks, 'Have you got any news of the iceberg? My family were on it, you see. Have you got any news of the iceberg? They mean the whole world to me.'

"It hadn't occurred to the grieving relatives that a polar bear's family might have been on the iceberg that collided with the Titanic. It is, you see, a matter of perspective.

"The story about that polar bear, which comes from an old British comedy record I own, came back to me as I brooded over the imminent peace agreement between Israel and Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat."

In these waning days of the final month of 2015, I returned to this column because 15 years later, it is depressingly clear that a "fair and just" agreement is even further away from reality than it was in 2000.

Simply put, Israel has no interest in a "peace agreement." Why should it? The United States government is content with this corner of its world-wide permanent war.

The "polar bear's perspective" remains largely unknown to the citizens of the United States. A recent report from Israel's Foreign Ministry explains why. The report has to do with Yahoo and You Tube.

The current Israeli government, ever alert to the slightest hint that its "security" might be endangered, is currently whining that its occupying army and Israeli citizens confront Palestinian children enraged by videos they see on social media.

These videos depict the Israeli army shooting Palestinian civilians. The Israeli Foreign Ministry wants them banned from social media. Does the FM really believe that children growing up as virtual prisoners under occupation by a foreign army, need videos to enrage them?

They already know the daily and nightly dangers they personally encounter. They don't need videos.

They already know that when clashes began in November, 2014, over a perceived threat to destroy Jerusalem's Haram Al Sharif followed by the rebuilding of The Temple Mount, it was clear to anyone who knew the history that such a "threat" was as remote as a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine.

Ruins of the Temple Mount may or may not lie buried layers of history below the Haram Al Sharif, the Muslim holy site, described this way on a Muslim site:

"At the heart of Jerusalem is the Noble Sanctuary, Al-Haram al-Sharif, enclosing over 35 acres of fountains, gardens, buildings and domes. At its southernmost end is Al-Aqsa Mosque and at its center the celebrated Dome of the Rock. The entire area is regarded as a mosque and comprises nearly one sixth of the walled city of Jerusalem."

Does Israel want to take over and rebuild that area? You bet it does. Can it do so? Not anytime soon. Meanwhile it is a good issue with with to launch the quelling of another "uprising."