One person was killed and more than a dozen were wounded, some seriously, in terrorist attacks in Petach Tikva, Jerusalem and Jaffa on Tuesday. Welcome, Mr. Vice President Joe Biden, to the Israeli experience, which we've been dealing with for the past six months. Some might even say -- rather justifiably -- for the past six months plus 100 years. If these incidents weren't so tragic, we could perhaps reflect on the irony: The vice president of the most important superpower on the planet met on Tuesday with "Mr. Peace Process" himself, former President Shimon Peres, at the Peres Center for Peace, where the two discussed peace, the two-state solution, and a few other visions for the future. What sweet delusions, perfect for a magical Jaffa night. Perhaps Biden, too, was pondering the city's beauty. Just a few streets down, however, a frenzied knife-wielding terrorist from Qalqilya did his utmost to remind the host and his guest of the bitter reality here. While Biden and Peres were busy discussing a window of opportunity, the terrorist was seeing every open car window as an opportunity to stab and kill as many Jews as possible. The man who lost his life, incidentally, was an American tourist. Perhaps Biden now understands that in the Middle East the term "window of opportunity" is relative. This doesn't necessarily mean that on Thursday we won't hear the all-too-familiar and mistaken refrain that the lack of a peace process is the reason for these terrorist attacks; and it doesn't mean we won't be reading those terribly sad news headlines about three poor Palestinians killed in Petach Tikva, Jerusalem and Jaffa (as one website in New Zealand reported). Actually, we woke up on Tuesday to a story in an American paper, The Wall Street Journal, revealing President Barack Obama's plan to use the little time he has left in office to chart a path for us, and perhaps even rescind the American veto at the U.N. Security Council, just in case one proposal or another seeks to force one idea or another about borders, constructions and even Jerusalem on us. Truth be told, this is nothing to get worked up about. Former President Bill Clinton tried the same thing before leaving the White House, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius tried pulling the exact same rabbit out of his hat before leaving office a few weeks ago. It seems the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will always be in style. A good friend of mine, an Arab from Jaffa, told me at the onset of this terror wave that it would go on for a long time. Why, I asked. "Look at what's happening online," he answered. "Look at the wild incitement." And this is precisely the root of the problem. Just like 100 years and six months ago, there are too many people on the other side who still don't comprehend that terror is not the way. On Tuesday, before the terrorist's identity was known, another friend of mine assured me that he was not from Jaffa. "An Arab from Jaffa will at the most maybe go out and protest, but not kill," he told me. Indeed, my only solace on such a horrific day was that the attacker didn't come from Jaffa. I have too many pleasant memories and too many Arab friends from there who tell me they had the good fortune of being born Israeli. It's just a shame that in the Middle East of today, too many people, like the Muslim assassins of the 12th century, believe they have the good fortune to die as shahids (martyrs). Terror is an ideology. Nothing is happening because of the "occupation" or "desperation." This is simply their way. And no diplomatic solution can solve this. Full stop. To be sure, there is nothing like Jaffa at night -- when people aren't being stabbed.
