In Henry Kissinger’s opinion, the idea that peace in the Middle East will depend on the signing of a document is a faulty one.’These negotiations are moving toward a document with peace written on it, and after it is signed, then history starts,’ Kissinger said in his speech last night in Independence Hall. The Nobel laureate was the guest speaker at the Schottenstein Chabad House’s second Annual Gala. Kissinger said that peace must be worked at over a long period of time. ‘The real problem is to see if one can work out over an extended period of time a grander coexistence between Arabs and Israelis,’ he said. This agreement needs to give security to the Israelis and dignity for the Arabs, he said.Kissinger said one cannot understand Mideastern politics unless one understands the scale of the area involved. ‘U.S. policy makers have a huge canvas on which they have to operate,’ he said.That style doesn’t hold up in the Middle East because the physical space involved is so small, he said. He said the distance between the Jordan River and the sea is only 50 miles, and a drive from Jerusalem to the West Bank takes less than an hour.Israel’s problem with the West Bank lies in that ‘it is confined space, and there are two different peoples living in that confined space with different objectives,’ Kissinger said.’It is extraordinarily difficult to achieve success when the margins of survival are so slim,’ he said.Kissinger was Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and later Secretary of State under Presidents Nixon and Ford. He pointed out at the beginning of his speech that, for a short time, he held both positions at the same time.’Never before and never since have relations between the state department and the white house been so harmonious,’ Kissinger said of the period.The Chabad house honored President E. Gordon Gee and Cincinnati businessman and Jewish leader Sam Boymel for their work in support of the Chabad House.Besides Middle East affairs, Kissinger addressed American foreign policy and the U.S. role in world affairs.’We are by far the strongest military power, but the number of issues that can be settled with military power is declining,’ he said.Kissinger said that since the world is getting smaller, American foreign policy makers need to change to accommodate.’We need to alter a policy of confrontation with one country into one that can encompass a whole group of countries,’ he said.When asked about students today as compared to the student activists of the 70s, he said he liked today’s students better.’In my day, their passion exceeded their knowledge,’ he said, while today’s students are better informed.