Helena Cobban at The Boston Review is covering how the decline of the poltical left in Israel is effecting the peace process. Some interesting passages:

“Pollsters found that 94 percent of Jewish Israelis supported the recent war in Gaza. Veteran peace activist Daphna Golan, who teaches human rights law at Hebrew University, recalled the anguish and isolation she felt during the Gaza war, especially in the face of widespread pro-war activism among Hebrew University students. Golan said university authorities did not respond to her complaints about posters she described as “extremely racist” hung at the entrance of the Givat Ram campus.

Even the Meretz Party, launched successfully in 1992 on an explicitly pro-peace platform, supported the Gaza war in its early days-as did the writers David Grossman and Amos Oz, icons of the peace movement. By the fifth day of war, all agreed that Israel had “done enough” and should stop the assault. But their initial support legitimated the whole war in the eyes of admirers at home and abroad.”

I have written about this issue on this site as well as on Jvoices. I am happy to see that the author notes that peace groups not unlike Ta’ayush are on the rise and offer promise for the future.