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An Israeli diplomat told a crowd at the University of Wisconsin Tuesday night that peace in the Middle East will not be possible until countries make the psychological leap necessary for collaboration.

Gershon Kedar, deputy consul general of the Israeli Consulate in Chicago, focused his talk of peace primarily on conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.

“If any people really want peace with Israel, it’s Palestinians. They know the cultural and economic freedoms that they had. They know how much they have to gain, and we also know how much we have to gain, but the problem on both sides is psychological,” Kedar said.

Kedar went on to say the two feel uncomfortable negotiating, and outside forces would be required for them to make the “quantum leap” necessary to overcome this.

He added the moderate camp developing in Palestine must be stronger for them to feel confident about negotiations.

“When we can solve the blockages, we clear the lines of communications,” Kedar said. “We can get the negotiations going even more than we are now, and I honestly think we can get to a two-state solution sometime in the next year or two.”

Kedar also noted this moderate camp is part of the bigger conflict in the Middle East. Instead of Arabs versus Israelis, it is moderates versus extremists.

He spoke at length about the suspected rise of an atomic energy program in Iran. He said research has shown a nuclear bomb could be produced by 2010 and the danger of Iran should not be overlooked.

“Other countries are looking at Iran and saying, ‘This country is dangerous.’ The fact that they are trying to get missile technology that gets to Eastern Europe, southern Russia … means that it’s much more of a danger to Israel, to the whole of the Middle East and the West,” Kedar said.

UW junior Jehad Algharabli said Kedar’s emphasis on Iran was an attempt to draw attention away from bigger problems with Israel itself.

“Any talk about psychologically reaching an agreement is really a euphemism for internalizing and accepting what [Israel] is doing. Palestinians will never incorporate an occupation into their life. They will never accept it,” Algharabli said.

Algharabli is a part of Justice for Palestine, which with the help of several other campus organizations organized a mild protest outside of the Hillel offices on Lake Street before the speech.

His family is from Gaza, and at one point he spoke out angrily about the killing of Palestinian civilians by Israeli troops.

Kedar, visibly agitated, responded by saying the casualties are a result of practices by those attacking Israel.

“Those people who are attacking Israel deliberately act out of civilian areas. You know why? Because they want Palestinian civilians killed. You know why? To serve their position. It doesn’t matter what’s the truth. Israel will be blamed for every Palestinian killed,” Kedar said.

The event was organized by Madison Israel Public Affairs Committee, a group that promotes education and awareness about Israel.