For many years, the settlement movement has sought to portray itself as the vanguard of 'real' Zionism. Simultaneously, Peace Now has worked to take back Israeli Zionism, and to show the Israeli public and the Jewish Diaspora that real Zionism is one that represents Jewish values of justice, democracy and peace. In truth, the settlement movement is a small, fanatically ideological movement which threatens Israel's security, prosperity and its viability as a Jewish, democratic state.

For over 20 years, Peace Now has worked to expose the truth behind this extremist movement. More and more we are seeing the fruits of our labor. We see these changes, starting with the most recent election, when the voters ousted racist and anti-democratic parties and voted for more centrist, non-isolationist, pro-peace voices. We also see a change in Israeli public opinion, as evidenced in a recent poll by Ariel 'University,' located in the Ariel settlement deep within the West Bank . This poll is not just any poll. It is not produced by some organization or institution that can be written off as having 'anti-settlement' bias. This poll, by a group with the interests of settlers at heart, counters the assumptions that the Israeli mainstream supports settlements -an assumption that has led to resignation and hopelessness for many people in Israel and abroad. This is reason to feel hope.

Consider these numbers:

• Over half (53%) of the Israeli public supports partial or full withdrawal from the territories in a peace treaty.

• Opposition to evacuating settlements decreased from 46% in 2012 to 24% in 2013.

• The number of Israelis identifying as right wing has decreased from 57% in 2012 to 48% in 2013.

• More Israelis define themselves as left or center (52%), an increase from 43% last year.

• More Israelis (39%) saw settlements as a waste of state funds, compared to only 24% last year.

• Respondents showed a comprehensive understanding of the various factors involved in the settlement enterprise, with 42% claiming that the hilltop youth, YESHA council leaders, right wing parties, towns in Judea and Samaria, YESHA Rabbis and religious Zionists in IDF combat units are equally representative of settlers.

• The recognition by 48% that settlers are harming the relationship with the US.

In short, a settler-friendly poll found that Israelis increasingly see the settlements for what they are: hotbeds of extremism and a burden on Israel militarily, economically and politically. Such results are, unquestionably, good news. Polls are a snapshot of the national mood at a given moment. This snapshot shows that, even in the context of national cynicism and apathy regarding Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, an increasing number of Israelis are unsympathetic to the settlement enterprise.

So why am I writing to you, our supporters? Because there is no doubt in my mind that these shifts in Israeli public opinion - as proved by the recent elections, this poll, and the increasing interest of young people to be active with Peace Now - are the result of our sustained efforts to inform the public on the threat that settlements pose.

Peace Now is the foremost organization reaching the Israeli public with messages about settlements and their moral, political and economic dangers. Whether being featured on popular nightly news shows, or spreading our message through social or print media, we are getting these messages across, and they are being heard loud and clear.

At moments when you may question whether you still believe that peace is possible, or that your efforts - including your support for Peace Now - matter, I urge you to think of those around you and in Israel who refuse to give up and who know that the stakes are too high to quit. Remember all the work we've done and the tangible strides that we've made. My call to you today is simply this: Don't give up, on us or on peace. Stay in the race, running alongside us or cheering us on. We can only do our work and impact Israelis with support from people like you.

Please do your part and make a tax-deductible donation through our American sister organization, Americans for Peace Now.

Thank you for your support,
Yariv Oppenheimer
Secretary General
Peace Now