The cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians actually can end

Many times in the past, nations and groups found an “impossible” peace

Cycles of violence are a standby of human events. Such cycles exist among nations, ethnicities, religions, criminal gangs, neighborhoods and families.

Right now there is a cycle of violence doing its worst between Israel and Gaza. Who’s-to-blame is an important question for those living in the region, but not for this essay.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

The question here is: How can a cycle of violence be stopped?

Whatever may come of the current sorrows, if whichever side is perceived to lose wants retribution, the sorrows will continue.

Perhaps this is fate, in the dictionary sense of that which must happen and is beyond anyone’s control. But history shows that cycles of violence can end.

Historically, many long, bitter cycles of violence came to an end, sometimes even supplanted by friendship. Here are a few, and in a moment we’ll look at what caused bloodshed to become cooperation: