In 2010, organizations in Israel working for Palestinian human rights held few illusions about Israeli public opinion. The vitriol coming from Israeli society towards these groups was rivaled only by the contempt Israeli Jews expressed towards Palestinians themselves.
A decade that had included the Second Intifada, waves of violence against Israeli civilians and a 2006 war with Lebanon had left Israelis despairing of peace. The Jewish public became even more traumatized and hostile towards Palestinians, viewing local human rights organizations as subversive.
Then, in late 2008, Israel’s war in Gaza (termed “Cast Lead”) led to a UN commission headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, investigating possible war crimes. The Israeli government refused to cooperate with the commission, but local rights NGOs supplied information, bringing Jewish Israeli feelings about these groups to a new low.
