With the failure of the two peace missions, a new round begins once again in the never-ending debate between proponents and opponents of the peace process in this country. Those of us who support the peace process bemoan the failure of the missions, and express our fear that a new cycle of violence will begin. Opponents of that process claim that talk of such a cycle of violence is a kind of blackmail on the Arab side. Let's take a look at that argument for a moment. Every time some one talks about the possibility of a new Intifada, of a new wave of terrorist violence, or even of the outbreak of a new war with Syria, the Israeli Right always gets tough and defensive and talks about how the Jewish state will never cave in to the threat of violence.
Countries make peace in order to prevent the next war.
That's what motivated Sadat to come to Jerusalem. That's why Menachem Begin agreed to give back the entire Sinai peninsula to Egypt. Not out of love for one another, but out of fear of the next war. Sadat was thinking along the same lines. Yitzhak Rabin understood better than most Israelis how important it is to prevent the next war.