On June 5, 1967 Israel launched the Six Day War. An opportunity for peace came in its aftermath, but it wasn’t taken. The why’s and what’s of that missed chance at peace have the pundits buzzing on this 40th anniversary.

Meir Shalev was born during the 1948 war. He grew up with Israel and next year they will both turn sixty: “Neither of us is young anymore, but I am pleased to report that I look far better. Israel cannot hear anymore, doesn't see well, can't really grasp matters or understand clearly. Worst of all, Israel refuses to undergo the operation that would return it to good health.”

Tom Segev says that “more and more Israelis realize today that Israel gained absolutely nothing from the conquest of the Palestinian territories.” What would have happened if Israel had simply defeated the Arab armies and withdrawn to its 1948 borders? Segev can only imagine the possibilities.

Terence Smith remembers the brief time after the 1967 war when “peace seemed likely and shopping rather than shooting was the major interaction between Israelis and the Palestinians on the West Bank.” No more. Defiant Arab leaders and radical settlers left an opportunity for peace for the selfishness now shown nightly on television screens.

Bret Stephens says that the Six Day War gave Israel the opportunity it needed for survival: “when the sun rose on June 5, 1967, Israel was a poor, desperately vulnerable country, which threw the dice on its own survival in the most audacious military strike of the 20th century. It is infinitely richer and more powerful today, sure in its alliance with the U.S. and capable of making concessions inconceivable 40 years ago.”