One of the most tragic and cruel periods in modern European history unfolded in the early 1990s, as we watched the rampages committed by all parties in the Bosnian War.

The Serbs, who were in control of the destiny of Yugoslavia and were the mainstay of the Yugoslav army, gradually lost their grip, as international intervention favored the independence of Bosnia. The flames of war pitting the three populations against each other brought about the deaths of hundreds of thousands, and ended with the imposed Dayton Accords, with which the parties were not entirely content.

The war showed not only that old enmities never die - for all parties saw this war as a continuation of World War II horrors, when the Croats and their Bosnian partners collaborated with the Nazis - but also as a heritage of the old Balkan wars, where outside intervention, notably Muslim, American, NATO, and UN was necessary to bring the conflict to an end (for now).

Born in Fes, Morocco, Raphael Israeli teaches Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern history at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He is a graduate of Hebrew University in history and Arabic literature, and has a Ph.D. in Chinese and Islamic history from the University of California, Berkeley.

Albert Benabou is the first Israeli who served as a diplomat in the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in a war zone. His testimony at The Hague was crucial. He is a graduate of Hebrew University in political science and French culture, an officer (rank of major) with the Israel Defense Forces, and was advisor to Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy.

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