JERUSALEM -- The usually ferocious Jerusalem traffic moves a little more slowly these days. According to the lunar calendars followed by Muslims and Jews, the holy Muslim month of Ramadan this year coincides with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, making this a time when both Muslims and Jews, separately but simultaneously, are engaging in reflection and prayer. Their prayers this year ought to include requests for new leaders, brave and creative, for both sides of this conflict. Palestinians and Israelis are giving pollsters mind-bogglingly inconsistent views of what they want. That means they are ready for new leaders who can craft new policies and help bring an end to a conflict that has everyone feeling utterly exhausted. Most Israelis say they want their government to start peace talks with Palestinians even if that means talking to a government led by Hamas, whose stated goal is the destruction of Israel. In polling by the Truman Institute at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 67 percent of Israelis favored talks with a joint Hamas-Fatah government and 56 percent said they would back talks with a Hamas-led government.
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