This time, how about a more solid foundation for the stone?

The image depicted is a black and white political cartoon. At the top-center of the image, a large rectangular stone block labeled “Cornerstone Middle East Peace 1967” is hanging from thick chains, being prepared to be lowered to the ground. Below the stone, the ground is uneven and broken, made up of scattered stone slabs. The broken stone blocks on the ground are labeled with earlier dates and phrases, including “Middle East Peace 1948” and “Middle East Peace 1956”. Also in the sandy stone are phrases such as “hatred”, “threats of extermination”, and “permanent state of war”. On the lower right side of the image, four men stand close together in suits facing the broken ground and hanging stone. Their backs are labeled in order “U.S.”, “U.S.S.R”, “U.N.” and the fourth one is unknown, as he is cutoff in the cartoon. The man labeled “U.S.” is pointing towards the stone blocks and the uneven terrain. The background is mostly blank, drawing attention to the scene at hand. At the bottom of the page, there reads a caption that says the suited man labeled “U.S.” asks, “This time, how about a more solid foundation for the stone?”.

In relation to the Six Day War of 1967, this image highlights plenty of concern for peace attempts to be made after the war, due to the fact prior peace attempts had been unsuccessful. In 1948 was the war that gave Israel an official state, and 1956 was the Suez Crisis in which Israel and other allies attempted to seize the Suez Canal. This time, the diplomats in the image appear to know they are playing with fire by placing the peace stone onto the uneven terrain. Even the Holy Bible cites awareness against building on uneven terrain in Matthew 7:26-27, stating, “… will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it”. The implication appears to be that any slight inconvenience could destroy this new peace stone.

When examining the suited men, one might question the appearance of the United States, Soviet Union, and United Nations in relation to middle eastern conflict. This war was a key player in Cold War dynamics. The U.S. leaned towards support of Israel during this conflict, while the USSR heavily backed Arab nations like Egypt and Syria. The United Nations might be the most important figure depicted, as they are commonly at the forefront of peace efforts between Israelis and Arabs. Many believe that they are the reason for the uneven terrain because of their lack of intention in their proposed resolutions, leaving them vague and open to interpretation from both sides. UN Resolution 242 came from the conflict in 1967 calling for a land of peace in Palestine/Israel. This resolution is still debated by both parties today.