Gush Shalom
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Gush Shalom (
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: גוש שלום, lit. ''The Peace Bloc oalition') is an Israeli peace activism group founded by
Uri Avnery Uri Avnery ( he, אורי אבנרי, also transliterated Uri Avneri; 10 September 1923 – 20 August 2018) was an Israeli writer, politician, and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement. A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat for two ...
in 1993. Avnery–a former journalist,
Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...
and
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
member–also lead the organization till his death in 2018. The
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
organization has been involved in several Israeli controversies, such as sending a "Relief Convoy to Gaza" while it is under
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
administration, and the mainstream Israeli media has described it, on occasion, as "radical" and "extreme". In 2010, the American Friends Service Committee has described the group as "one of Israel's most influential peace organizations".


Organisation

The movement was established in 1993 by
Uri Avnery Uri Avnery ( he, אורי אבנרי, also transliterated Uri Avneri; 10 September 1923 – 20 August 2018) was an Israeli writer, politician, and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement. A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat for two ...
. Avnery stated that he started Gush Shalom because other Israeli peace groups did not take a strong stance against what he considered "the repressive measures" of the government of Israeli prime minister
Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...
. Gush Shalom is an extra-parliamentary organization, independent of any
party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...
or other political grouping although it has members who are associated with various political parties.


Stance

Gush Shalom objects to the Israeli
occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...
of the
West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, and argues that the occupation is illegal and that Israel is committing war crimes on a daily basis. It opposes Israel's policies of blockade and non-recognition of the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
. It supports a
two-state solution The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River. The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotiation ...
to the Israel-Palestine question, with the Green Line as the border between Israel and
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
(with minor exchanges of territories), and with
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
as the capital of both states. The movement supports soldiers' refusal to serve in the
West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
or
Gaza strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
, recognition in principle of
Palestinian right of return The Palestinian right of return is the political position or principle that Palestinian refugees, both first-generation refugees (c. 30,000 to 50,000 people still alive )"According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency – the main body ...
, and an Israeli withdrawal to the Green Line. Gush Shalom activists regularly confront Israeli security forces at construction sites in settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, and along the
Separation Barrier A separation barrier or separation wall is a barrier, wall or fence, constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border, or to separate peoples or cultures. A separation barrier that runs along an internationally recogni ...
. Gush Shalom said that Israel's offer to Yasser Arafat in the
Camp David negotiations of 2000 The 2000 Camp David Summit was a summit meeting at Camp David between United States president Bill Clinton, Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat. The summit took place between 11 and 25 July 2000 a ...
was not a "generous offer" but "a humiliating demand for surrender", publishing the maps from the proposal (seldom published in the US), and an animation from the maps showing how little would be left for a Palestinian state under the proposal Avnery was among the first to meet and negotiate with PLO leader
Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
. In 2001 the organisation made a peace proposal on the basis of a two-state solution with the 1967 boundaries. During the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, Gush Shalom was a vigorous critic of the Israeli attack on Gaza. Avnery described it as "the Election War" since he believed it was intended to increase the election chances of Defence Minister
Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...
and Foreign Minister
Tzipi Livni Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni ( he, ציפי (ציפורה) מלכה לבני, ; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A former member of the Knesset and leader in the center-left political camp, Livni is a former fore ...
in the planned February elections. Gush Shalom in one of numerous Israeli organizations pertaining to the radical left. It has been described as left-wing in the Israeli and US media. Avnery wrote:
Every left-wing body fears with terror the one who is on its left. The right-wing of the Avoda party is afraid of its left-wing. The left wing is afraid of Meretz. Meretz is afraid of Yossi Beilin, who was pushed out of the Avoda by Amram Mitzna and his leftist friends and that Meretz also didn't give him a realist position on its list. Meretz is afraid of "Shalom Achshav". "Shalom Achshav" is afraid of "Gush Shalom" and the Arab parties.


Praise and criticism


Praise

International human rights groups, including
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, American Friends Service Committee, and others, have lauded Gush Shalom for promoting peace and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians. The AFSC awarded Avnery the "Profiles of Peace" honor for his work for peace. The
Haaretz newspaper ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...
publishes a weekly editorial statement by Gush Shalom in its weekend edition. In 2001, Gush Shalom received the
Right Livelihood Award The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to "honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob v ...
"for their unwavering conviction, in the midst of violence, that peace can only be achieved through justice and reconciliation".


Criticism

Israeli journalist Uri Dan, a close friend and confidant of
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...
, described Gush Shalom in ''
The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...
'' as "lunatic fringe" due to the group's statement that they are monitoring Israeli soldiers activities and will consider submitting collected evidence to international courts. Dan described the announcement as "preparing to inform on their brother soldiers - who are defending them too".
Isi Leibler Isi Leibler (Hebrew: ; 9 October 1934 – 13 April 2021) was a Belgian-born Australian-Israeli international Jewish activist. Biography Born in Antwerp, Belgium, Leibler was brought to Australia by his parents as an infant just before the o ...
, an influential Jewish leader and commentator, criticized the group for techniques that mirror images of the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
models, "exploit ngemotions" by creating bodies associated with 'mothers' and 'children', such as "Women in Black" and "Mothers against War". He stated this was done in order to further their interests under the guise of promoting peace, and noted that, in a similar manner,
communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...
also encouraged draft evasion in democratic countries as Gush Shalom are doing. Leibler criticized the group members for " elievingthey and they alone represent the true apostles of peace and those opposing them are fascists, racists, and warmongers", further describing the group as " art ofthe radical wings of Israel's contemporary peace movement".


References


External links

* {{official website, http://zope.gush-shalom.org/index_en.html
Right Livelihood Award
Non-governmental organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process Non-governmental organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Political organizations based in Israel Organizations established in 1993 Politics of Israel