Overview

Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) is the largest and most effective peace movement in the history of Israel. Belonging to the Zionist peace camp, Shalom Achshav was formed in 1978 during a foundering moment in the peace talks between Israel and Egypt, when 350 reserve officers and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces petitioned their government not to lose an opportunity for peace. Tens of thousands of Israelis supported their position and the Shalom Achshav movement was born.

Shalom Achshav works to promote peace with security for Israel, and a healthy democracy, through educational, advocacy and dialogue activities. Shalom Achshav’s mission is to help achieve what it believes to be the only solution to the conflict – an Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territory and the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza -- otherwise known as the two-state solution.

Support groups in the United States, Great Britain and France, as well as Canada, rally peace activists on behalf of Shalom Achshav. Within Israel, the movement is endorsed by prominent intellectuals such as Amos Oz, David Grossman and A.B. Yehoshua, , and former Members of Knesset including Yossi Beilin, Avraham Burg, Tzali Reshef, Naomi Chazan, Yuli Tamir and Mossi Raz.

Canadian Friends of Peace Now (CFPN) supports the agenda of Shalom Achshav, and raises awareness here in Canada of the need for a viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. CFPN is the only mainstream Jewish organization in Canada dedicated entirely to promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace on the basis of the two-state solution.

A member of Canadian Jewish Congress, CFPN helps broaden the debate on major issues of peace and security. CFPN has branches in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.

As a registered Canadian charity, CFPN supports the work of Shalom Achshav in Israel through its ongoing fundraising activities. Donors receive tax receipts for their contributions.