The Power of 'We're Sorry'
What would happen if the prime minister of Israel began his speech today at the Sharm el Sheik summit by acknowledging the Palestinian people's suffering? What if he were to declare that Israel accepts partial responsibility for that suffering? What effect would such simple and direct words have on the Palestinian public? How would Israel's position in the coming negotiations suffer, and what would Israel gain?
And how would Israelis feel if the leader of the Palestinian Authority were to begin his speech by expressing his regret for the suffering that the Israeli people have endured through years of conflict. What if he were to accept, simply and directly, that the Palestinians are responsible in part for that suffering?
Can such a moment be imagined, can such possibilities be conceived within the thicket of suspicion and hostility that traps us both?
It is clear to all that a final peace agreement between Israel and Palestine must address the suffering that the two peoples have caused each other, and their responsibility for that suffering. No one doubts that each side will bargain up to the last minute before consenting to grant official recognition of its enemy's suffering.
It is clear that such a step has a very concrete price. At Camp David, the Palestinians sought to submit "price tags" for each of the chapters in their national tragedy. Israel's representatives in those negotiations discovered that the Palestinians have computed reparation fees for every Jerusalem house and neighborhood from which Palestinians fled in 1948. The same is true for every village from which Palestinians were expelled and for every person who was killed by Israel during the course of the conflict.
But at the time of the final peace treaty, Israel will also be able to submit its bill for everything the Palestinians have done to Israelis from the beginning of the conflict to the present day. Israel will place a price tag on every violent Palestinian attack from the beginning of the 20th century to the bombardment of southern Israeli towns three weeks ago by rockets launched from the Gaza Strip. And don't forget the large amount of property that Jews left behind in the Arab countries they fled.
But perhaps the most difficult concession implicit in recognizing one's enemy's suffering and accepting responsibility for it is not economic.
