The day after an Israeli journalist said the Middle East will not see peace anytime soon, a scholar who has worked in the Israeli government and served in the country’s army agreed with him in the second part of the lecture series at the Florence ‘ Chafetz Hillel House.

The author of two books on Israeli, Middle Eastern and American relations, Michael Oren explained how the effects of the Six-Day War of June 1967 are nearly preventing Israel from making peace with Palestinians, a sentiment that almost mirrored author Tom Segev’s remarks the night before.

“The Six-Day War has never really ended,” Oren said to about 50 college students. “It’s only just beginning.”

The war “changed the face of the Middle East,” he said, because the countries’ borders and increased strength of the Israeli military that resulted from the battle have had a huge impact on Israeli and Palestinian identities.

Israel’s victory against Egypt, Jordan and Syria guaranteed the Jewish country’s position as an independent state and established its current borders, which expanded to include the West Bank and Gaza Strip, now areas populated with Palestinians.

Rabbi Avi Heller said the Six-Day War was the “defining moment” in the relationship of the Jewish people to Israel because it gave them a tangible connection that had not existed before 1967.

“[The war] was a way to quantify pride and sense of belonging, on a mass level, where all Jews were on board with Israel,” he said before the lecture.

Noting current tensions between Israel and its neighbors, Oren said he foresees another violent outburst — similar to the 1967 war or last summer’s Israeli-Lebanese conflict — in the near future.

“When you have a context of conflict, all you need is a single spark,” he said. “We have a context of conflict in the Middle East now.”

Referring to the current weapons capable of mass destruction, Oren said “a conflict [at this time] would not last six days, but a mere six minutes.”

Berklee College of Music sophomore Ami Kozak said he appreciated Oren’s practical outlook. School of Education freshman Lauren Wexler commended Oren for telling the “full story” of the war.

“He separated the emotion from fact but presented both aspects,” Wexler said. “He showed the interplay.

“It’s an issue that I wish wasn’t there, but I don’t think it’s avoidable,” she continued. “I don’t think there is much Israel could drastically do differently to change their position.”