“Congratulations, America! Congratulations, Joe Biden! And congratulations, Israel too! America chose Joe Biden, a true friend of Israel and a supporter of the two-state solution. The age of belligerence, messianism, and fantasies of annexation is over. It’s time to put an end to the frenzy of construction in the settlements and return to the negotiating table until we have peace here!” That was the response of Peace Now, right after the major US networks announced that Biden had been elected to be the next president of the United States.
Sharing in this outpouring of joy over the defeat of President Donald Trump were all the leaders of the Israeli political left, former and current politicians alike. But there was good reason that Peace Now’s response was the quickest in coming and the most effusive. As far as the movement’s supporters were concerned, it marked the end of the four-year nightmare in which Trump was in the White House. As president, he made them irrelevant, while supporting and strengthening the West Bank settlement movement and the Israeli right.
Peace Now is the oldest movement on Israel’s political left. It is also the best known, both at home and internationally. It was first founded over 40 years ago to gain public support for a withdrawal from the West Bank. Over the years, some of its leaders and founders became major political figures on the Israeli left. Their successful campaigns to halt construction in the settlements received extensive international media coverage.
During Trump’s four years in the White House, however, Peace Now and the entire Israeli left found themselves pushed to the margins. They lost any influence they had on the national agenda. In terms of messaging, this was an awful period for them, impacting even their ability to raise donations. They were hurt by just about everything that Trump did for which the settlers were grateful. This included deep diplomatic deadlock, a failure to communicate between Washington and the Palestinian Authority, and symbolic moves such as the relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem.
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