The Paratroopers who Founded Gush Emunim & Peace Now and Israel’s Wary Center

The Paratroopers who Founded Gush Emunim & Peace Now and Israel’s Wary Center

Written by Yossi Klein Halevi, author of “Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation,” this important article traces the story of two members of the Paratrooper Reservist Brigade 55 who liberated the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six Day War: Hanan Porat, founder of the Gush Emunim settlement movement, and Avital Geva, founder of the Peace Now movement. Klein Halevi argues that, in subsequent years, the majority of Israelis have come to reject both the right-wing settlement movement and the left-wing peace movement in favor of a centrist movement that both supports a two-state solution and protects Israel’s security.