I met Micah Sifry in 2007 at the Personal Democracy Forum, when I was drawn into the world of new media. It wasn’t until the dawn of the first Trump regime that we reconnected, as part of a group response to the trauma of what felt like an American abyss. At that time, Westchester and the Bronx were one congressional district, and folks had gathered to start an Indivisible group. Our district has since been redrawn, and we now represent both 15 and 16. Full disclosure: Sifry and I are members of the group’s Steering Committee. In the past, we visited Rep. Eliot Engel’s office to discuss issues related to Israel, which, in retrospect, now seem relatively simple.

Knowing Sifry to be on the cutting edge of tech, government, and organizing, I was interested in digging into his book, When Doves Try, which retraces his interviews with Israel’s Peace Now movement from 1978 to 1983. I had also seen his slide presentation from his 2024 trip to Israel on a “study and solidarity tour” organized by Americans for Peace Now.

Sifry gives the backstory of his initial trip to Israel. He was 5 years old, visiting his mother’s family and his “Israeli cousins.” It was 1967, right after the Six-Day War. Sifry relates that it wasn’t until almost a decade later that he noticed inequities in Israeli society, as well as “casual racism” from his cousins, which didn’t sit well with him.

In the 1970s, Sifry joined Hashomer Hatzair, a movement for young Jews steeped in a Socialist-Zionist ethos. His second semester of college was spent living on Kibbutz Shomrat. He found himself seriously considering making aliyah with colleagues from Hashomer Hatzair to a kibbutz on Israel’s border with Lebanon.

During the summer of 1982, Sifry, using Kibbutz Adamit as a base, traveled throughout the country to interview the activists spearheading Israel’s peace movement. His presence coincided with Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.

When he wasn’t working on the Kibbutz’s farm, Sifry was speaking with those leading the peace movement and journalists covering the action. In real time, during meetings, he observed debates about the incursion into Lebanon and the viability of refusing to serve in the army. The latter concern tapped into Sifry’s internal conflict about military service. While finishing his senior year at university, the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camp massacres took place.

Sifry continued writing about the origins of the Peace Now movement and the parallel evolution of Gush Emunim, the settler movement, which was gaining traction in the Occupied Territories. It became his senior thesis, and a well-placed mentor sent it to Victor Navasky, the editor of The Nation magazine. Sifry snagged an internship at the publication. It was one of those examples of how life plans can change in a flash. He continued his work as a journalist in the United States; a move to Israel didn’t........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)