NATO World Health Org. Page A18 Underneath the armored exterior of Maj. Gen. David Ivry and his specialized jargon on all matters military is a funny diplomat struggling to get out. Armament buffs attending the Israel Policy Forum lunch on Monday followed up with more sophisticated queries, further befuddling the rest who came for a tea-leaf reading on prospects for Middle East peacemaking. When asked how far the talks had gone between Israeli defense officials and the Pentagon on the security package Israel was seeking in exchange for peace with Syria, a little bit of the general's humor came out.
Peace is very expensive, but war is much more expensive.
Ivry, who is credited with being the architect of his country's security alliance with Turkey, a NATO member state bordering Syria, said it was very important to signal that Israel can have such close ties with a Muslim country. If we can do it with Iran, we would like to do it. The strategy of pursuing alliances with states adjacent to Israel's Arab neighbors has been a consistent theme of Israeli foreign policy. The ambassador-general has a raconteur side as well. He told of how rabbis were always being called upon to settle conflicts between neighbors in small Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.