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Israeli-Palestinian peace movement Peace Now Peace Now is an Israeli grassroots movement advocating for negotiated resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict through territorial compromise and democratic activism. Founded in the late 1970s by Israel Defense Forces reservists and public intellectuals, the movement has engaged with Israeli politics, civil society, and international diplomacy while contesting settlement expansion and promoting two-state outcome frameworks. Peace Now has intersected with prominent figures, parties, events, institutions, and court cases throughout Israeli and Palestinian history.
Peace Now emerged from protests and public debate in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War and amid debates over the Golan Heights and West Bank (Judea and Samaria), when reservists and activists including veterans of the Israeli Defense Forces and members of the Mapam and Labor Party called for negotiated withdrawals. The movement organized mass demonstrations during the early terms of Menachem Begin and in response to the 1982 Lebanon War, linking to broader networks such as B'Tselem, Gush Shalom, and Hebrew-language civil groups. Peace Now campaigned through periods defined by the First Intifada, the Oslo Accords, the Camp David 2000 Summit, the Second Intifada, and the unilateral Gaza disengagement 2005, repeatedly mobilizing around settlement construction, evacuation, and international mediation efforts involving actors like United States, European Union, United Nations, and envoys including Jimmy Carter and Tony Blair.
Peace Now advocates a negotiated two-state framework rooted in territorial compromise on the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), security arrangements involving the Israel Defense Forces and international guarantors, and recognition of Palestinian national rights as articulated in documents like the Oslo Accords and proposed frameworks similar to the Geneva Initiative. The movement aligns with progressive currents found in parties such as Meretz, the Labor Party, and civil-society elements of Zionism that emphasize democratic norms, rule of law adjudicated by the Supreme Court of Israel, and engagement with international forums including the United Nations Security Council and the International Court of Justice. Peace Now situates its goals within debates over settlement legality under instruments referenced by the Fourth Geneva Convention and resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly.
Peace Now conducts monitoring of settlement construction through publications and satellite-based reporting that reference projects in blocs and outposts across the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), including East Jerusalem neighborhoods contested by municipal authorities and Palestinian bodies represented at the Palestinian Authority. The group organizes demonstrations, petitions, legal petitions in the Supreme Court of Israel, and public education campaigns tied to anniversaries like Yom Ha'atzmaut, the Oslo Accords signings at the White House, and commemorations linked to the First Intifada. Peace Now collaborates with NGOs such as B'Tselem, New Israel Fund, and international partners including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International on reports concerning land registration, housing demolitions, and planning regimes enforced by the Civil Administration (Cohabut) and ministries associated with settlement policy. The movement also fields observation teams during elections involving parties like Likud and Yesh Atid to influence platforms and voter mobilization.
Peace Now exerts influence through litigation, media campaigns, and electoral endorsements that intersect with Knesset politics involving factions such as Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and centrist blocs. The movement has shaped debate within cabinets led by figures like Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak, and Ariel Sharon on withdrawal and negotiation, and has engaged with diplomatic mediators including envoys from the United States and the European Union. Peace Now's advocacy has affected municipal decisions in Jerusalem and settlement policy overseen by ministries and the Knesset, while also provoking reactions from right-wing parties and advocacy groups such as Im Tirtzu and Regavim. The organization has maintained working ties with Israeli human-rights NGOs and international institutions while seeking to influence platforms of parties like Meretz and Labor Party.
Peace Now has been criticized by right-wing Israeli parties, settler organizations, and some security veterans for allegedly undermining national security and for publicizing settlement statistics and maps that foes claim are inaccurate or politically motivated. Critics from groups such as Im Tirtzu, Likud, and settler councils have challenged Peace Now's funding sources and methodologies, sometimes prompting legal and parliamentary scrutiny involving the Knesset and the Attorney General of Israel. The movement has also faced internal dissent from activists who dispute tactical choices around civil disobedience, alliances with international NGOs like New Israel Fund, and positions during high-profile negotiations such as the Camp David 2000 Summit and talks mediated by John Kerry.
Organizationally, Peace Now comprises national offices, regional branches across municipalities such as Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem, and volunteer networks of activists, researchers, and legal counsels who bring petitions before the Supreme Court of Israel. Funding has included private donations, membership dues, and grants from philanthropic foundations and foreign donors, including NGOs and entities active in transnational grantmaking associated with civil-society support. These funding relationships have been the subject of public debate and legislative proposals in the Knesset concerning transparency and foreign funding of NGOs, with interlocutors including Israeli ministries and watchdog groups like Regavim and Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
Peace Now has contributed to shaping Israeli public discourse on territorial compromise, influenced court rulings on settlement legality, and helped catalyze evacuations such as aspects of the Gaza disengagement 2005 while informing international awareness through collaborations with entities like the United Nations and European Union. The movement's campaigns and research have been cited by politicians from the Labor Party to Meretz and have affected municipal planning decisions in Jerusalem and settlement blocs, leaving a legacy in Israeli civil society comparable to longer-standing NGOs such as B'Tselem and The Association for Civil Rights in Israel. Its role continues to be a point of contention in debates over the future of Israel and Palestinian statehood under proposals referenced in forums like the Quartet on the Middle East.
Category:Peace movements