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After a Devastating Terrorist Attack, Israelis Are Disenchanted of the Prospects for Peace

(New York Times) Sheera Frenkel - A growing number of Israeli citizens are eschewing ideas that include promoting peace talks with the Palestinians and supporting a two-state solution since Oct. 7, when Hamas gunmen crossed into Israel in a surprise attack and killed 1,200 people. Since that day, a consensus has emerged that Israel needs to take a harder line with the Palestinians. Activist groups in Israel's peace camp say many members have abandoned the cause. Many longtime Israeli peace activists said they could no longer support the movement. "The trauma of what happened on Oct. 7 shifted Israeli society. It made them question the most basic tenets of whether they were safe in their homes," said Tal Schneider, a political columnist for the Times of Israel. "They are calling now for more military, more protection....Nobody in this country wants to talk about peace right now." A poll in November by Tel Aviv University found the share of Israelis in favor of a two-state solution had fallen to below one-third. Before Oct. 7, Larry Butler, 73, a resident of Nir Oz, had been a member of Peace Now. Now, displaced in a hotel in Eilat, Butler has questioned his beliefs. "I guess I'm somewhere in the middle," he said, "but I'm definitely not left." Maya Mizrachi, 25, had also protested for peace. After Oct. 7, she discovered that a high school friend was among those killed at the music festival. "The irony is that she was the biggest peace activist I knew," Mizrachi said. "She was the one who got me involved in the movement to begin with."
2023-12-19 00:00:00
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