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Peace Now (Hebrew: שלום עכשיו Shalom Achshav, IPA: [ʃaˈlom (ʔ)aχˈʃav]) is a non-governmental organization, liberal advocacy and activist group in Israel with the aim of promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Objectives/positions Two states for two nations – Israel and Palestine A Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, based on the borders of June 1967 with land swaps agreed upon by both sides Jerusalem – In an official document from 1982 Peace Now advocated for an undivided Jerusalem as Israel's capital. It has since shifted its position to two capitals for two states – a solution based on demographic breakdowns with a special agreement for the Old City. Peace with Syria – A peace agreement based on secure and recognized borders, and the regulation of relations between the two countries is the primary strategic issue for the people of Israel and Syria. Beginning negotiations with Syria is a gateway to negotiations with Lebanon and will help create a new international mood in the region. Peace Now views the settlements as a threat to the existence of Israel as a democratic and Jewish state. Peace Now views the settlements as a main obstacle to any future peace agreement. Peace Now views the settlements as an element that harms the State of Israel on many fronts: security, economically, morally, and culturally. Peace Now views the settlements as harmful to Israel's standing in the international community. Origins Peace Now was formed during the 1978 Israeli-Egyptian peace talks between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat at a time when the talks looked close to collapse. Three hundred forty-eight reserve officers and soldiers from Israeli army combat units published an open letter to the Prime Minister of Israel. They called for the Israeli government not to squander the historic opportunity for peace between the two nations. The officers realized that Israel could not retain its Jewish-democratic nature while perpetuating its rule over one million Arabs. They concluded that Israel's security needs could only be met by the attainment of peace between Israel and its neighbours via a negotiated agreement. Subsequently, tens of thousands of Israelis petitioned the Israeli government in support of the letter, and as a result the movement known as Peace Now was born. Early activism Peace Now again came to prominence following Israel's 1982 Invasion of Lebanon, and in particular the massacre of Palestinian refugees by Christian Lebanese Phalangists at the Israeli controlled Sabra and the Shatila refugee camp. On 25 September 1982 Peace Now held a mass protest in Tel Aviv in order to pressure the government to establish a national inquiry commission to investigate the massacres, as well as calling for the resignation of the defence minister Ariel Sharon. Peace Now's 1982 demonstration was attended by 400,000 people, approximately 10% of Israel's population at the time. Subsequently, the Israeli government established the Kahan Commission on 28 September 1982. Four months later the commission found Israel to be indirectly responsible for the massacres, and recommended Ariel Sharon's resignation. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at first refused to adopt the Kahan Commission's recommendations. Consequently, Peace Now decided to hold a demonstration on 10 February 1983 that marched from Zion Square towards the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem in order to pressure the government to do so. Emil Grunzweig In the wake of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, Peace Now led a march from Zion Square and moved towards the Prime Ministers' Office in Jerusalem on 10 February 1983. During the march Peace Now demonstrators encountered a group of right-wing activists. In the ensuing confrontation, Yona Avrushmi tossed a hand-grenade into the crowd, killing Emil Grunzweig, a prominent Peace Now activist, and injuring several others. Yona Avrushmi was duly arrested, convicted of murder and given a mandatory life sentence, which was commuted to 27 years by President Ezer Weizman in 1995. Avrushmi was released on 26 January 2011. As a result of mounting public pressure on Menachem Begin to adopt the Kahan Commission's recommendations Ariel Sharon agreed to step down as Defence Minister. However, he remained in the government as a minister without portfolio. Peace Now and the First Intifada (1987–1993) In 1988 Yasser Arafat (Chairman of the PLO) publicly accepted United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 at the PNC in Algiers. For the first time, Yasser Arafat accepted Israel's existence according to its borders set out in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, and rejected and condemned the use of terrorism in all its forms. In reaction Peace Now led a demonstration of more than 100,000 people, calling for immediate Israeli-Palestinian negotiations for the purposes of attaining peace between the two parties. Following this, Peace Now led the Hands Around Jerusalem event, in which 25,000 Israelis and Palestinians linked hands to encircle the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem in a chain of peace. In part due to the Israeli-Palestinian discourse engendered by Peace Now and its activists, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin and Yasser Arafat succeeded in signing the Declaration of Principles/Oslo Accords on the lawn of the White House on 13 September 1993. Peace Now was the first Israeli organisation to meet with the PLO, at a time when such an undertaking was deemed illegal by the Israeli government. The signing of the Oslo accords marked a milestone in Israeli-Palestinian relations, as for the first time both peoples recognised their counterpart's right to exist. Furthermore, the Oslo Peace Process was initiated; this process was a framework for future negotiations which aimed to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict within a five-year period according to the logic of the 'two state solution', as set out in UN General Assembly Resolution 181. Peace Now supported the Oslo Accords, and since then it has called upon all Israeli administrations to date to adhere to the terms of interim agreements which were agreed upon as part of the Oslo Peace Process. Peace Now and the Second Intifada (2000–2005) Since the outbreak of the violent Second Intifada in December 2000, Peace Now has arguably lost a certain degree of the Israeli public's support. While the First Intifada was largely a popular movement on the part of the Palestinian public, the Second Intifada consisted of far more violent confrontations between Palestinian militants and the IDF, Israeli settlers within the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and Israeli civilians. According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 132 Israeli individuals were killed by Palestinian militant bomb/suicide attacks within Israel proper between 2000 and 2004. Despite the arguable decline in the Israeli public's support for the Oslo Peace Process, Peace N.... 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