PEACE NOW

Peace Now: translation

(Shalom Achshav)

A loosely defined interest group established in the spring of 1978, when reserve army officers wrote toPrime Minister Menachem Beginurging him to pursue peace vigorously. It worked to keep the subject on the public agenda with rallies and demonstrations. Among its positions was the view that there should be territorial compromise and Israel should relinquish some of the territories taken by Israel in theSix-Day War(1967). It was especially prominent in protests against theWar in Lebanon(1982) and theSabra and Shatilacamp massacres. Fully mobilized in support of theOslopeace process, Peace Now's confidence was badly shaken by the breakdown of theCamp David IInegotiations and the protractedAl-Aksa intifadawaged by thePalestiniansin the first years of the 21st century. Chastened by the realities surrounding them, mainstream elements of Peace Now balanced their belief in the need for territorial compromise with the more immediate imperative of personal and national security for all Israelis.

See alsoPeace Movement (Peace Camp).