“Only great international pressure can force Israel to make peace”

Nir Avishai Cohen, in these dark days, is hardly a prophet in his country. This “human rights activist”, born in 1981 into an Ashkenazi family established for three generations in Israel, who fought during the second intifada and remains a reservist officer, was close to the secular left and active within the movement Breaking the Silence, made up of soldiers who denounce the occupation of Palestinian territories by the IDF. Invited to Bordeaux on November 25 and 26 by his translator Bertrand Bloch, he presented his book, “Loving Israel, supporting Palestine” (ed. L'Harmattan, 210 p., €22).

Your book was written in part before the massacre of October 7, 2023 and the war that followed. Is your message of a two-state solution still relevant today?

It is more relevant than ever and this year of war has reinforced it. If we don't make a fair peace deal with the Palestinians, more October 7s will come. Our only way to live in safety and peace is to get along with our neighbors.

Your beliefs seem very much in the minority in Israel. For what ?

The peace camp is more in the minority than ever. This does not mean that his cause is not just. But in 25 years, Israeli society has become more religious and right-wing. This is partly due to the fact that Israelis who are rather poor and affected by the economic crisis have been manipulated by the demagoguery of successive politicians and governments. It is easier to say: “All Arabs want to kill us” than to guarantee human rights for all. The left lost the battle because it failed to make its messages more accessible, particularly to young people.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Can this promote awareness?

I support these mandates and I believe these crimes in Gaza are real. But most Israelis don't care. They consider any criticism to be anti-Semitic: this would therefore be the case of the Hague Court, as politicians and the media insist. It avoids facing reality and debating the facts. And many say that the arrival of Donald Trump in power in Washington will change the situation and that everything will be over in January.

What must be done to achieve peace?

Palestinians and Israelis have proven that they cannot reach an agreement alone. That's why I'm in France. Peace will come from massive international pressure: European Union, United States, etc. I don't see any other solution. We must force Israel – I emphasize the word – to come to an agreement with the Palestinians. Netanyahu, who is part of the problem and wants the war to last forever, must leave power. We need an immediate ceasefire, the return of the hostages, a withdrawal from Gaza which should be handed over to the Palestinian Authority, the decolonization of the territories for a sovereign Palestinian state. It will take years but it is the only way out.