Brit Shalom
BRIT SHALOM
Founded in 1925, Brit Shalom (Covenant of Peace) was a Jewish organization that promoted binationalism, asserting that Palestine belonged to both Palestinian Arabs and Jews, and that both were entitled to national self-determination. Among its founders were Judah Magnes, president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Arthur Ruppin, head of the Palestine Office of the World Zionist Organization. In 1942 Magnes and other Brit Shalom members created the Ihud (Union) Association, which presented its ideas for a binational government in Palestine to the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry in 1946, and then to the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine in 1947. Ihud proposed dividing Palestine into districts, which would have a large degree of autonomy, with two national committees, Jewish and Arab, and a federal executive and legislature. Although Brit Shalom ultimately became a marginal group, in 2001 a new organization, Brit Shalom/Tahalof Essalam (the Jewish-Palestinian Alliance for Peace), was founded. The organization promotes the ideals of full and equal rights for the Arab citizens of Israel, the rejection of violence, and the renewal of a dialogue aimed at creating a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.