Israeli Left’s Ideals Take a Beating Amid Violence

“There is a deep crisis of conscience for the left in this country, for those of us

who were brought up believing that peace was possible, that we should pay the

price and that Arafat was our partner. The most severe

damage caused by recent events has been to the solidarity, commitment and belief

of the Israeli left in the peace process.” Los Angeles Times It’s been more painful to follow recent Middle East events than much else in the world; maybe naively, I thought at times that peace was within reach, and then to watch it fall so utterly apart, and the killings start again. However, some feel, at least in retrospect, that Israel never bargained in good faith. Read one Jewish leftist intellectual, Michael Lerner’s, anguished, apologetic appraisal of Israel’s failure in the peace process.