The other Israelis

GOVERNANCE

by THE OLBIOS TEAM

Peace Now is a NGO, “liberal advocacy” and activist group in Israel that aims to promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Peace Now was formed during the 1978 Israeli-Egyptian peace talks, at a time when the talks looked close to collapse. 348 reserve officers and soldiers from Israeli army combat units published an open letter to the Prime Minister of Israel in which they called on the Israeli government not to squander the historic opportunity for peace between the two nations. The officers realized that Israel could not retain its democratic nature whilst it continued to rule one million Arabs.They concluded that Israel’s security needs could only be met by the attainment of peace between Israel and its neighbors via a negotiated agreement. Subsequently, tens of thousands of Israelis petitioned the Israeli government in support of the letter, and as a result the movement known as Peace Now was born. Peace Now held a mass protest in Tel Aviv on 25 September 1982 in order to pressure the government to establish a national inquiry commission to investigate the massacres of Shabrah and Shatila. 400,000 people, approximately 10% of Israel’s population at the time, attended that demonstration. Their goals: a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, based on the borders of June 1967 with land swaps agreed upon by both sides, and a peace agreement with Syria based on secure and recognized borders. Peace Now_website   Website: http://peacenow.org.il/eng/

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