Forty years after a short but important war, Israelis and Palestinians struggle for serenity.

Miriam Joyce, a Purdue University Calumet history professor of Middle East studies, called the Six-Day War critical but momentary.

"It was one chapter," Joyce said. "The conflict is still continuing. There's never been a total peace."

In 1967, fighting broke out between Arab and Israeli armies, and after six days, Israeli troops won control of the Gaza Strip, West Bank, part of Jerusalem and access to holy site, the Western Wall.

Today marks 40 years since the beginning of that war.

Barukh Binah, Israeli consul general to the Midwest, spoke Monday night at First United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hammond. He spoke of Israel's history, assessing the country's chances of peace with its neighbors. The Middle Eastern political climate has shifted in 40 years, he said.

"The difference is that today, most of the area in which we live accepts the fact Israel exists, even if they do not like it," he said.

Binah cited Iran's nuclear aspirations, Lebanon's relationship with Hezbollah and conflict with Palestinians as the crucial fronts in regional war and peacemaking.

Binah referenced the Holocaust while talking about Iran.

"We have learned from bitter experience that when someone tells you they want to annihilate you, you'd better take them seriously," he said.

Avi Cohen said he remembers hearing stories of that tumultuous time from his parents, growing up in his hometown of Hod Hasharon, 30 minutes north of Tel Aviv.

"I remember my dad telling me when he was a teenager, he was walking in my hometown and remembered hearing an airplane flying over his head," Cohen said. "He said, 'That was a unique time.'"

Cohen, participating in an ambassador program with the Jewish Federation of Northwest Indiana, called the war significant because it signaled a shift in Israeli comfort and confidence.

"Before 1967, the people in Israel felt a terrible fear for their existence," he said. "Israel proved her army's ability to survive. We gained a lot of respect and a lot of pride."

Both of his parents, Cohen said, expressed a feeling that "it's all behind us now."

To some degree, Joyce said, that isn't true.

Conflict rages on for a few reasons, she said, including that Palestinians elected a Hamas government, which doesn't recognize Israel's right to exist.

Also, said Joyce, who is Jewish and visits Israel each year, enclaves of pious Jews have created the "unfortunate legacy" of building settlements in occupied territory on what should be Palestinian land.

Israel pulled out from parts of the northern West Bank and the Gaza Strip about two years ago, but violence still mars the area.

The Rev. Bassam Abdallah, Palestinian pastor of the First United Evangelical Lutheran Church, declined to comment on his personal feelings about the war's anniversary.

Instead, he said, "We pray for peace. Enough is enough."

Times staff writer Dan Hinkel contributed to this report.