FROM THE EDITORS December 28, 2009 Issue

A NEW THING FOR THE MIDDLE EAST

TOWARD THE END OF NOVEMBER, some hope began to grow in the Middle East via news reports of a prisoner swap in which Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for an Israeli sergeant the Islamist group Hamas has held since June 2006. But since then, the Israeli government has put a damper on the discussions. At this point, there appears to be little evidence of real change in the situation.

A news analysis in The New York Times made the point that both sides have found "a dark truth" that "force has produced clearer results in this dispute than talk" ("Painful Middle East Truth: Force Trumps Diplomacy," October 20, 2009). It's true that both sides have engaged in military actions, commando raids, and the like. But reliance on force alone is unlikely to lead to long-term solutions, because it can't really bring about permanent healing. Too often, force only buys time until the enemy recovers.

To break this self-fulfilling cycle requires something more powerful than tanks and rockets. It demands the kind of spirituality described in this passage from the sixth-century (B.C.) prophet Zechariah: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts" (Zech. 4:6).

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