ynics might regard Pope Francis prayer summit, which will bring Israeli President

Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican today, as a
glorified photo opportunity. And plenty of pictures will be taken. But for five reasons --
these leaders histories, their missions, their frustrations, their mutual respect, and the
date -- the meeting could help resuscitate the Middle East peace process.
BAND OF THREE
Although Francis might get credit for the meeting, it is the nearly 91-year-old Peres who
has driven things. For him, this is an opportunity to pursue peace over Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahus head and engage Abbas in neutral space. And he has
been trying to do so for a long time: Peres met with Francis in the Vatican in April last
year, just six weeks after the new pontiff was installed, and personally invited him to
Israel. After that, Peres went on to Assisi, the Italian city dedicated to St. Francis, where
he received the citys first Medal of Honor for Peace.
For Abbas, too, this meeting will be propitious. Although there are many reasons that the
most recent round of peace talks collapsed, Netanyahu and his ruling coalition
governments fundamental distrust of the Palestinian president has not helped. Last
summer, for example, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman wrote to the United
Nations secretary-general, the U.S. secretary of state, the Russian foreign minister, and
the European Unions high representative for foreign affairs to ask them to help force
elections in Palestine to oust Abbas. Anyone coming after Abbas will be better for
Israel, Lieberman wrote, Abbas is not a peace partner.
But Abbas has a major defender in Peres, whose approval rating in Israel is over 80
percent. I have known [Abbas] for 30 years, Peres told an assembly of ambassadors to
Israel in December 2012. Peres went on to describe Abbas as the only Arab leader who
stood up and said publicly that he was in favor of peace and against terrorism. And last
month, Peres commented to Israels Channel 2 that, three years ago, he and Abbas had
secretly met in Jordan four times. He said that they reached an agreement that covered
nearly all points of dispute, but that, as the two men were getting ready for their final
meeting, Netanyahu stopped it.
Peres and Abbas are coming to the Vatican as long-time partners. They both have the
freedom to operate because of their age, time in public service, and status as founding
fathers for their people. In other words, neither man has anything to prove. Yet each is
invariably captured by local politics when he is in his respective presidential
headquarters. The meeting in the Vatican thus gives Abbas and Peres some breathing
room, as does Francis presence. He has built his papacy on straightforwardness,
common sense, respect for all, and humility. Together, they can attract global attention to
the stalemate in a politically neutral and moral way.
MODEST MISSION
Beyond their personal histories, the three leaders missions are also aligned. Each
believes that his respective constituents best interests will be served if Israel and
Palestine arrive at a two-state solution based on internationally recognized borders and
security assurances.
For its part, the Vatican considers the standoff in the Middle East to be a source of
Muslim-Christian conflict around the world. If Israelis and Palestinians could make
peace, the Catholic Church reasons, there would be less pressure on Christian minority
communities and they could practice their faith with more freedom. To that end, in 2000,
representatives for the Palestinians and Catholics agreed that Jerusalem should be
guaranteed a special international status to safeguard its identity and sacred character
and to assure freedom of access to its holy places. It was based on the original plan for
the partition of Palestinian territories that the United Nations approved in 1947.
Peres has also spoken highly of the peace process and the two-state solution. Like
Francis, he has mostly focused on human rights and prosperity. In his memoir,Battling
for Peace, for example, Peres concludes, as for our region, the Middle East, Israels role
is to contribute to the regions great and sustained revival. It will be a Middle East
without warsin which people, goods, and services, can move freely from place to place
without the need for custom clearance and police licenses. A Middle East in which every
believer will be free to pray in his own languagein which nations strive for economic
equality, but encourage cultural pluralism. And in a compelling February 2014 interview
with Buzzfeed, Peres describes his lifes mission as to make peace.
Likewise, Abbas mission is to establish a functional Palestinian state within
internationally recognized borders, not the new border he sees Israel constructing. He
recently warned Israel that if Israel refuses to honestly negotiate the terms of statehood
for Palestine, he might liquidate the Palestinian Authority so that Israel can take over,
including all its people and problems. To date, Abbas has alsoopposed the boycotts,
divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
For Francis, Peres, and Abbas, then, a two-state agreement between Israel and Palestine
is a goal worth coming together for.
FED UP
If the three leaders goals align, so does their frustration about the gap between the truth
on the ground and the innumerable proposals for coexistence on paper.
Frustration is the norm for people living in East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank as a
result of what Israelis call a security fence and Palestinians call a tool of apartheid. For
over ten years, the Palestinian Authority and the Catholic Church have complained
bitterly about the wall and its negative impact on local people, Palestinian Arabs and
Christians.
During a 2003 press conference at the White House, Abbas noted that, If the settlement
activities in Palestinian land and construction of the so-called separation wall on
confiscated Palestinian land continue, we might soon find ourselves at a situation where
the foundation of peace, a free Palestine state, living side-by-side in peace and security in
Israel is a factual impossibility. The same year, Pope John Paul II publicly criticized the
barrier during a Sunday meditation before thousands of people. The Holy Land does not
need walls, but bridges! he said. Without reconciliation of souls, there can be no
peace.
The wall and related settlement issues have also caused more prosaic troubles. In a recent
case on the West Bank, a group of Selecian Sisters joined a lawsuit to stop the
construction of a portion of the wall near Beit Jala that would separate the convent from
its school it runs for Palestinian children and from the neighboring Cremisan monastery
(an historical wine-making order). It would also separate 58 Christian families from land
they cultivated in the Cremisan Valley. The case went to the Israel Supreme Court,
which, in February, ordered the government to explain the walls route and why it could
not be altered. A hearing is set for July 30.
The Church has a running tally of other grievances as well: After more than 20 years, a
1983 agreement concerning issues such as taxes on church properties and charitable
groups remains un-enacted; Arab-speaking Catholic priests are often not allowed re-entry
visas to Israel, even though they are supposed to administer Israel, the West Bank, and
Jordan; and residency permits for religious workers often go un-renewed, thus turning
church workers into criminals.
On the other side, Peres rarely criticizes Netanyahu or his government by name, although
he does express frustration. At a state dinner in Norway last month, he lamented, There
had been many attempts to break the ice between us and the Palestinians. All failed. He
continued by saying that Israel was not born to rule over other people. No wonder he is
seeking the quiet of Francis personal chapel.
MIRACLES HAPPEN
The idea that these three men might jumpstart peace may seem farfetched, but each has
taken unpopular positions before, proving his independence and ability to negotiate for
the common good.
For example, Francis shocked many Catholics when, on a plane back from a tour of the
Holy Lands last month, he said that Pope Pius XII would not be canonizedbecause he did
not perform enough miracles. That was an unconvincing reason because only last year,
Francis was reportedly on track to canonize Pius, and he has waived the miracle
requirement for others, including Pope John XXIII.
Although some Catholics have lobbied the Vatican to canonize Pius, even turning the
cause into a moneymaking enterprise, Pius is a controversial figure. In the end, knowing
that the Jewish community argues that the pope could have done more to save Jewish
communities and should have, at least, publicly confronted Nazi Germany about the
extermination camps, Francis chose to eliminate the controversy in one stroke.
Just as controversially, Peres dared to call the West Bank settlements a threat to peace in
July 2012, just one day after a government report claimed that Israel has an international
right to build them. His announcement sparked protests inside of Israel.
Abbas, too, inspired anger when, in November 2012, he said he did not expect to return
to his childhood village of Safed, in northern Israel, because it is now Israeli territory,
although he hopes to visit. The statement seemed to be a concession that the Palestinian
right to return to pre-1948 homes is not a pragmatic demand.
Also in their favor is the date of this weekends meeting. June 8, is on or near a holy day
for all three religions: It falls on Pentecost Sunday for Christians, the 50th day after
Easter, when the Holy Spirit descended and gave Jesus apostles the ability to speak and
understand all other languages. It is also just three days after Shavuot is celebrated, which
commemorates the day on which God gave the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai. It also
happens to be the anniversary of the day, in 682, when Muhammad died in Medina at age
62 or 63, with the words, Rather God on High and paradise. Today, some Muslims
mark the day by reading the Koran or through prayer.
Religious people accept that unexpected, transformative, and even miraculous things can
occur at any time. And each faith is premised on welcome surprises -- exactly what is
needed to revive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. But the date -- and the characters of
these three leaders -- cant hurt. After decades of failed effort, it seems almost logical for
Christians, Jews, and Muslims to seek out wisdom through prayer on such an auspicious
day.