If recent statements by Israel’s leaders are anything to go by, a strike on Iran seems almost inevitable. Now, the drumbeat for war has led to the emergence of a nascent anti-war movement in the country.
Over the weekend, about 1,000 protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv to urge the government not to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. While the demonstration was relatively small, it appears to be in step with the public mood across the country.
Israel Loves Iran, a Facebook group spreading a saccharine message of peace, has become a media sensation over the last fortnight. Attracting more than 40,000 followers, the group states: “To the Iranian people, To all the fathers, mothers, children, brothers and sisters. For there to be a war between us, first we must be afraid of each other, we must hate. I’m not afraid of you, I don’t hate you.” A YouTube video posted by one of the creators, graphic designer Ronnie Edry, has notched up well over 30,000 views.
While the campaign has garnered the usual criticisms about “clicktivism” which makes little real difference, it is an important attempt to humanise the other side (sadly unusual in the Middle East), and an expression of the fact that much of the Israeli public do not support their government’s stance on this issue.
This is borne out by recent opinion polls, which show that a majority of Israelis oppose an attack on Iran. This month, a poll by Tel Aviv University’s Guttman Centre found that 63 per cent of Israelis strongly or moderately oppose unilateral attack by Israel on Iran. Another poll, by Dahaf (an Israeli pollster), found that just 19 per cent supported a unilateral strike, while 42 per cent said they supported an attack only if it had US backing.
Whether Israel’s leaders take heed remains to be seen; even if the movement continues to gain traction, it seems unlikely.
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