So that's how they did it

Smart folx at the Vatican. Even in his death, Pope John Paul is continuing to broker peace.

Israel's president said he shook hands and chatted briefly with the leaders of the Jewish state's great enemies, Syria and Iran, during Pope John Paul II's funeral on Friday, but he cautioned against reading too much into the gestures.

President Moshe Katsav said he twice greeted Syrian President Bashar Assad, who sat one row behind him during the 2 1/2 hour service, and the Iranian-born Katsav said he spoke in Farsi to Iran's President Mohammed Khatami, just two chairs away as dignitaries gathered for the funeral were seated alphabetically. (emphasis mine.)

"I don't think this has any diplomatic importance," Katsav told Israel's Channel Two television. "We are cultured people and say hello nicely and shake hands, but I don't think our differences have disappeared."