10,000 Israeli Jews & Arabs Demonstrate for Peace
by HA'ARETZ

On Saturday night, February 9, 10,000 Israeli Jews and Arabs
filled Museum Square in Tel Aviv in the largest peace demonstration since the Intifada began.

Although a similar demonstration held one year ago drew only a few hundred, the now famous letter of refusal by reserve soldiers and officers has remoralized the peace movement.

This was despite the fact that Peace Now, the largest and best-financed of the peace groups, refused to endorse the demonstration,
which was sponsored by 28 peace groups, including Gush Shalom.

The mass turnout followed the publication of several large, paid peace advertisements in the Israeli daily Ha'aretz. One such ad was placed by Yesh Gvul, an organization which supports conscientious objectors.

Another was by a group of private citizens and had the headline,
"We support the soldiers who refuse to serve the occupation," and one by Gush Shalom declaring, "Peres, you are a collaborator in war crimes."

Furthermore, on February 8, the mass-circulation daily Yediot Ahronot published a survey showing that 26% of the Israeli public sympathizes with the reserve soldiers' letter.