Over the years, I’ve interviewed well-placed politicians and rabbanim involved in sensitive dealings between leaders of different lands and religious faiths.

I’ve left these conversations with two takeaways. The first is: Talk is cheap but very desirable, especially if the venue is a five-star hotel in an exotic foreign capital. However, if the leaders lack power to influence their community or followers, the whole exercise is nothing more than a photo op.

There’s little doubt that Jason Greenblatt and Jared Kushner have met these people of goodwill. There is major doubt whether the Arab clerics and leaders they met with are strong enough to remain in power in their own lands, much less to exert influence on the kleptocrats and narco-terrorists who head Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Authority, and who have rendered their own people totally powerless to effect change.

The second takeaway comes from Jews who have toiled, and some for many years, to establish cooperative relationships with local Arab communities in Israel and even share their resources and knowhow to help better their lot.

Inevitably, they give up and conclude that all the goodwill in the world won’t bridge the 4,000-year chasm between Jews and Arabs in religion, political identity, and culture. The best they pray for is that even though the two sides are no closer to agreement, perhaps their efforts distanced the next flare-up.

If the Trump administration can accomplish at least that much, it deserves an A for effort. But with all of their hard work, the deal of the century looks just as elusive on the ground as it did 100 years ago when Palestinians rejected the Balfour Agreement, setting the stage for the last century of Arab-Israeli war.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 749)