Making the peace governments can't do for them

For once, here's a heart-warming story of Israelis and Palestinians learning to live in peace, sharing information on breeding barn owls to combat the vermin. The best quote is at the end: "We're doing something our governments are not able to do."

Here is the hope for the Middle East. Bastiat reputedly said, "If goods don't cross borders, armies will." Back in May, Don Boudreaux expressed uncertainty that Bastiat actually said it. I'm only a disciple, not a Bastiat scholar, but I consider myself pretty well-read in Bastiat's works, and it still bothers me that I can't pin the quote down either. Now and then I've tried to read through things, but so far I can't find where he specifically said that phrase.

Regardless, the quote is certainly a truism, and it is particularly clear in the reverse. These Israelis and Palestinians have found a means of peaceful coexistence, and unlike the facade of "peace talks" and dividing up land, they'll stay at peace as long as they find this more profitable than fighting.