By Patrick J. Buchanan – December 27, 2001

Two thousand years after the first Christmas, Israeli tanks were firing in Manger Square in Bethlehem and Jewish children were being massacred by suicide-bombers in Jerusalem. The city of Christ’s birth and the city of his death were alike awash in hatred.

Is peace possible in the Holy Land? If not, endless suffering and ultimate tragedy lie ahead for Israelis and Palestinian alike.

What is now manifest is that neither Sharon nor Arafat can make peace. As Zbigniew Brzezinski argues in the Washington Post, “Neither side is able to take the ultimate steps for a grand, but also painful, historical reconciliation.” This is now apparent to all.