We accomplished so much, but couldn't stop the storm

As Israel readies a ground invasion of Gaza — which, in my view, is likely to be a dreadful mistake, substituting revenge for strategy and killing many more thousands of innocent men, women, and children — my mind goes back 30 years to a world that seemed far simpler.

- Robert Reich

I was in the White House Rose Garden in September 1993 when Bill Clinton hosted the now iconic handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat after they signed the Israeli-PLO peace accord.

We were so optimistic 30 years ago.

Coincidentally, last night, I had a reunion with about 60 members of my top team at the Department of Labor to mark 30 years since we came together. They’d been assistant secretaries, deputy assistant secretaries, other political appointees, and senior career professionals.

I was touched that so many showed up from all over the country.

I was moved by their memories of working together — how important it was to them, how much it still means to them. And I was stirred by their affection for one another — still strong after three decades.

I’m heartened by how many have stayed in the fight — one now a member of Congress, another a member of the New York legislature, several running nonprofits, many of them political activists in their states, a significant number of labor union officials and organizers.