President Shimon Peres will visit Pope Francis at the Vatican next week in their first diplomatic meting, whose agenda includes the eternal pursuit for peace in the Middle East, “peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians,” the war against poverty and relations between Jews and the Vatican.

That is pretty hefty list, but wait. There is more.

The mayor of Assisi, where hundreds of Franciscan monks live, will present its first-ever Medal of Honor for Peace to President Peres for his “unique contribution to dialogue and the cause of peace.”

Everyone, perhaps even Peres himself, has lost count of all the peace awards he has received. Of course, he won the Nobel Peace Prize, but then again, so did Yasser Arafat.

With every peace award, peace seems to be further over the horizon, but that only makes people like President Peres, the pope and the U.S. State Dept. even more determined than ever to get there.

Every year, the “window of opportunity” is closing. Every year, this is the last chance.

Every year, a Palestinian Authority-Israeli peace agreement will be signed in a year.

Perhaps that is what keeps war in the shadow of peace. Or maybe that is what keeps peace in the shadow of war.

Either way, popes are just as good as Peres in preaching peace, pardon the p’s, please.

But, wait. There is more.

Peres will officially invite Pope Francis to visit the Holy Land.

Ouch.

Pope Francis has been to Israel before, when he was beginning his position as Provincial Superior of the Society of Jesus in Argentina

When?

He arrived just when the Yom Kippur War broke out, according to the Times of Israel.

So much for peace.

But, wait. There is more.

John Kerry, Hillary Clinton’s successor in going around the world in 80 hours 80 times year, also is Catholic, kind of. He does not back abortion but thinks women have the right to make that decision for themselves. That is grounds for automatic excommunication.

Nevertheless, he says he is Catholic, and he, the pope and Peres undoubtedly will be in communication to resurrect their favorite hobby, the peace process. Kerry needs it more than anyone, because without it, he would have to stick to less enjoyable jobs, such as making peace with chemical weapons, teaching the Muslim Brotherhood all about democracy, and convincing himself that Iran is just another tolerant Muslim country that really likes Jews and Christians, especially Catholics.

Israel already is getting geared up for pope’s visit, which may happen later this year.

The pope really has excited Israeli officials.

Etzion Evrony, Israel’s ambassador to the Vatican, recently met with Pope Francis after his installation.

The pope greeted him in Hebrew. Wow.

He said  “Shalom.”

That means “peace.”

It also means “hello.”

And it also means “goodbye.”

An 81 year old Israeli scientist whose revolutionary irrigation methods have saved and improved the lives of millions of people throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South America, has received the prestigious World Food Prize, according to an announcement made by the foundation on Tuesday.

Daniel Hillel, Los Angeles native and father of Israel’s famous drip micro-irrigation method to conserve water while nourishing growing fruits and vegetables in the world’s most arid climates, was named the winner of this year’s $250,000 prize in a ceremony in Washington.  US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered the key note speech.  Hillel will be celebrated in an official ceremony at the World Food Prize Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa on October 18.

World Food Prize Foundation President Kenneth Quinn praised Hillel, not just for his system which carries water through narrow plastic tubing to drip sparingly above the roots of the growing plants, but for his contribution to bridging divides between diverse peoples.  Over  the past half century, Hillel has taken his agricultural know-how to over 30 countries around the world, including Jordan and Egypt.  Hillel has also shared his knowledge with leaders in Palestinian agriculture.  Quinn noted that several letters of support for Hillel came from institutions in Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.

“He’s able to reach across the intercultural gap with this agricultural achievement in order to address that problem that they have in common about how to lift people out of poverty and reduce hunger by working together,” Quinn told the Associated Press. “In an area of the world and in lands where the divides — whether they be ethnic, political, religious, or diplomatic — seem so great, here is a man who by devoting his life to this peaceful development has sought to bridge those gaps.”

Hillel was born in Los Angeles, but moved in 1931 at the age of 1 to Palestine after his father died.

At age 9, Hillel was sent to live on a kibbutz, where he learned about agriculture and preserving resources in the difficult pre-state period.

Hillel returned to the United States for high school and university, and came back to Israel in 1951, at which time he joined the Ministry of Agriculture, mapping the new country’s soil and water resources. In 1952, Hillel joined a group of pioneers who developed a viable agricultural community in the Negev – the new community of Sde Boker – by fashioning small holes in cheap, small plastic piping readily available after World War II, and running water and fertilizer through them directly to plants.  The town so impressed Israel’s Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, that he made it his home.

The World Food Prize, honoring people engaged in fighting world hunger, was created by Iowa native Norman Borlaug, the winner of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in developing hybrid crops in order to increase food production in emerging nations.  He died in 2009.

      Steven Plaut, a frequent contributor to The Jewish Press, is a professor at Haifa University. His book “The Scout” is available at Amazon.com. He can be contacted at steveneplaut@yahoo.com.