Beyond Paralysis: The Reframing of Israeli Peace Activism Since the Second Intifada

Abstract

This article looks at the transformation of Israeli peace activism since the Second Intifada. It does this by focusing on the collective action frames of Israeli peace activism, using framing processes from social movement theory to identify and explain shifts in the ideas and beliefs surrounding the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. It argues that, contrary to conventional wisdom, Israeli peace activism did not reach a “dead‐end point” following the Second Intifada but instead took on a new trajectory. While the moderate component of Israeli peace activism may have become paralyzed, unable and unwilling to respond to the prevailing realities, the radical and alternative components continued to act, transforming their ideas and presenting new ways to challenge the conflict. This article suggests that although these groups have not had an impact in the policy arena, their influence comes in the realm of norm entrepreneurship and therefore their efforts should not be overlooked.

Trust and Transparency in an Age of Surveillance

“…As mentioned above, Israeli NGOs have been monitoring Israeli agencies and settler actions for human rights violations for almost three decades. There are currently at least three dozen of these monitoring bodies that engage in some sort of empowering surveillance (Aggestam and Strömbom 2013;Avni 2006;Duke 2019;Fleischmann 2016;Helman 2015;Miretski and Bachmann 2014). That is, they are imposing transparency on government agencies in the name of universal human rights norms.…”

“…Yet, what these NGOs have found over the course of their activity is that merely putting the information on the web, available for all the world to see, is not enough. They have also learned that a large majority of the Israeli public does not want to hear about these violations or the occupation in general (Aggestam and Strömbom 2013;Avni 2006;Desai 2015;Fleischmann 2016;Helman 2015), and that in the international arena Palestinian suffering "competes" for attention with many other types of suffering by different groups. This has pushed the organizations to be much more active in their dissemination of information and to dynamically seek an audience.…”

“…Nevertheless, despite all the dedication and creativity that Israeli human rights NGOs invest in their endeavor, their overall success is limited (Aggestam and Strömbom 2013;Fleischmann 2016;Kutz-Flamenbaum 2016;Miretski and Bachmann 2014). The occupation in general seems to be deepening with time, and the goal of either nullifying or eroding it has clearly not been realized.…”

Database-Driven Empowering Surveillance: Definition and Assessment of Effectiveness

“…Research on the success of Israeli NGOs in stopping human rights violations in the OPT is more inconclusive. While some studies report good results (Fleischmann 2016; Kutz-Flamenbaum 2016; Miretski and Bachmann 2014), others report a chronic inability to influence this arena (Aggestam and Strömbom 2013;Avni 2006;Desai 2015). This inconclusiveness stems from disagreement about how to measure success, which is a point Israeli NGOs wrestle with intensively.…”

The Role of Internal Third-Party Interveners in Civil Resistance Campaigns: The Case of Israeli-Jewish Anti-Occupation Activists

“…Furthermore, the knowledge and skills of the Israelis were needed to help the Palestinians achieve some of their goals, at least in the short term. It should be noted that this study does not consider the more moderate peace activists, who play different roles and have been explored elsewhere (Fleischmann 2019; Hermann 2009).…”