Gush Shalom
Gush Shalom (engl. " The Peace Bloc "; letters often also in line with the English transliteration Gush Shalom ) is an Israeli peace initiative. It was founded in 1992; the most famous is a founding member Uri Avnery, another well-known member is Michel Warshawski.
The main aim of Gush Shalom is to influence Israeli public opinion and lead in the direction of peace and reconciliation with the Arabs. This Gush Shalom tries to reach by means of daily statements, campaigns and demonstrations against prejudices, misunderstandings and resignation.
Gush Shalom believes that Yasser Arafat was the only guarantor of peace in the Middle East conflict. Arafat's decades of involvement in terrorist activities and his support of the Second Intifada are respectively referred to as a direct result of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. Allegations of corruption against the Arafat - authority, which were detected among others, the International Monetary Fund had been the Sharon government propaganda. According to Gush Shalom Arafat was also far less promised at Camp David in 2000, was then announced as public. Instead of a " generous offer " there had been at " a humiliating demands to surrender"; the peace initiative published maps and an animation to the Israeli proposal.
Gush Shalom is of the opinion that in view of the Israeli settlement policy with ever advancing new construction and expansion of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land in a few decades, no independent Palestinian life and no autonomy aspirations of the Palestinians will be more possible and that the U.S., like the EU with its peace initiatives, such as the roadmap, which until then only accompany settlement policy, but did not want to prevent. Israel is committing thereby a slow genocide. This controversial view is currently shared only marginally from the Israeli public, even if there is in favor of a majority of at least partially evacuate the settlements.
Gush Shalom is trying to establish a new conception of history in which not the story of the Israeli or the Palestinian people, but the story of the Palestine region comes to the fore. Gush Shalom helps Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest and the establishment of Palestinian homes. Furthermore, the organization called for a boycott of settlement products speaks of and information about these in a regularly updated list.