The most famous words in the Apocrypha are found in Ecclesiasticus (a.k.a., The Book of Sirach):

“Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us. … Leaders of the people by their counsels … wise and eloquent are their instructions.”

In 2023, however, it’s possible that the saving grace of the land where Ben Sira wrote Ecclesiasticus could rest with two men who are as infamous as famous and whose current counsel is perceived by many to be neither wise nor eloquent. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas are both widely seen as aging, worn-out, relics with tarnished reputations and shapeshifting principles. Paradoxically, the sinking fortunes of both men could provide a rare opportunity to transform for the better both their places in history and the fortunes of their respective peoples.

[FWIW, Ecclesiastes is not apocrypha for Catholics and Orthodox, where the quote appears in chapter 44. Otherwise, Robert makes an intriguing point about the nature of peace and the necessity of credibility among its bargainers. Think “Only Nixon could go to China,” which Robert tangentially references in relation to Ariel Sharon’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. A Netanyahu-Abbas peace pact would be a much closer analog to Nixon’s overture, and maybe Netanyahu would be the only Israeli politician with enough hard-liner cred to sell it — especially now. But Abbas will never go along with it, just as Arafat refused to take “yes” for an answer, because a state in the West Bank is not what the Palestinians want. They want the annihilation of Israel, and Hamas’ popularity underscores that. — Ed]