September 13, 1993: The Oslo Accord

September 13, 1993: The Oslo Accord is signed on the White House lawn, with President Bill Clinton having overseen the negotiations. For the first time, Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat recognized the right of the state of Israel to exist. He and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands on the deal. For one brief, shining moment, it looked like there might be a chance for genuine peace in the Middle East.

The big handshake on the White House lawn. It got Rabin and Arafat, and also South African leaders Nelson Mandela and Frederik W. deKlerk, named "The Peacemakers" and "Men of the Year" by Time magazine.

We thought this was the start of a new era of peace in the Middle East. At first, it was: In 1994, with Clinton on hand, Rabin shook hands with King Hussein of Jordan, and that peace still holds.

But in 1995, Rabin was assassinated by an Israeli, from a faction that considered any concession, no matter how small, to be tantamount to treason.

In 2000, a new Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, offered Arafat pretty much everything he wanted, including building him a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem (not the Old City). And Arafat refused it, demanding something that he was never going to get, the "right of return": "Palestinians" being allowed to return to the land they had before Israel's independence in 1948. That would lead to a massive influx of Arabs that would overwhelm the Israelis, and end the nation.

That was when we knew he couldn't be trusted. And it was the beginning of "the Second Intifada." And that was also the end of Labor Party government in Israel: Ever since, they’ve trusted the right-wing Likud Party, first with Ariel Sharon, and then with a 2nd go-round for the already-dumped, corrupt, warmongering Benjamin Netanyahu. And we're no closer to a solution than we were in 1993.

In the end, the Accord helped almost nobody -- except maybe Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu, hardliners who would never have been Prime Minister of Israel had the Accord succeeded.

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September 13, 1993 was a Monday. One Direction singer Niall Horan was born.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Jimmy Key outpitched Jaime Navarro. Randy Velarde went 3-for-3 with a walk. Don Mattingly went 0-for-5. Robin Yount, in his final full month as an active player, went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-0 at Shea Stadium. Tommy Greene pitched a 6-hit shutout.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-0 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Kevin Appier (2 over 7 innings) and Mark Gubicza (2 over 4) combined on a 4-hit shutout. George Brett, in his final full month as an active player, went 1-for-4.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 12-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Both teams were moving into new ballparks the next season.

* The San Diego Padres beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Phil Plantier hit a home run to win it in the bottom of the 11th inning. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the California Angels, 10-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Ken Griffey Jr., Bret Boone and Dave Valle hit home runs for the M's.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-5 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. José Vizcaíno and Rick Wilkins hit home runs. For the Giants, Robby Thompson hit 2 home runs, and Barry Bonds went 2-for-4.

* The Colorado Rockies and the Houston Astros had their game at Mile High Stadium in Denver postponed. Due to snow. In mid-September. The Rocky Mountains. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Rockies swept, 9-4 and 6-5. Eric Young Sr. singled Nelson Liriano home to win the 2nd game in the 10th inning.

* And the Detroit Tigers, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, the Florida Marlins, the Montreal Expos, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals were not scheduled.

And on ABC Monday Night Football, the Cleveland Browns beat the San Francisco 49ers, 23-13 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.