War between Israel and its Arab neighbors broke out just as soon as Israel was founded, and has hardly stopped since. The conflict has waxed on and off for decades now, with no end in sight. Occasionally the slow boiling pot overflows, and a major war erupts in the region: in 1967, Israel took over parts of Egypt and Palestinian territories, and six years later in an effort to regain those territories, Egypt launched a sneak attack on Yom Kippur, Israel’s holiest day.

On this day, December 21, in 1973, the United States and the Soviet Union, along with Egypt and Jordan opened a convention to attempt to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The meeting was held under the auspices of the United Nations Resolution 338, which called for a “just and durable peace.” The cache of the United Nations and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s back and forth travelling were the only reasons the two sides agreed to meet. No definite changes came from the Geneva convention, but the elections in Israel the following January brought a new government more disposed towards disengagement and peace. In the intractable world of Middle-East politics, even such small steps are considered successes.