Abstrakt
This chapter examines the formation of the Four Mothers Movement in Israel in the late 1990s, as a reaction of mothers of soldiers serving in Southern Lebanon to the infamous helicopter accident in February 1997. The movement spread as a grassroots organization across the country and their influence changed the public discourse regarding the presence of IDF in Southern Lebanon and significantly contributed to the unilateral withdrawal of the IDF in 2000.
Unlike other anti-war or peace movements, Four Mother Movement's agenda did not center their attention around the war per se, but rather focused more on the unwanted prolongation of military presence in Lebanese territory. As of such, the narrative behind the movement's aim was to protect the lives of Israeli soldiers - the sons.
The narrative is closely linked to the concept of political motherhood which served on a symbolical level as a cornerstone for the resistance advocacy against the official political discourse in Israel.