Learning Peacemaking Through the Dishes

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks tells a true story in one of his books about peacemaking in what is arguably one of the world's most difficult places to achieve it: the Middle East. One evening in the early 1980s, British diplomat Victor Mishcon was attempting to negotiate a peace deal between Jordan and Israel. Following the time-honored diplomatic tradition, he began by inviting the countries' representatives—King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres—to his home for dinner.

The evening proceeded…