Mid-east peace takes giant step backward with death of Edgar Bronfman

A quick scan of obits in various media outlets reveals the expected accolades for Edgar Bronfman. His lengthy tenure as head of the World Jewish Congress. The tenacious lobbying of the Soviets to allow more Jewish emigration. His efforts to hold Swiss banks accountable for Nazi-era collusion with German authorities.

But one facet of Bronfman's career as a lobbyist for Jewish interests is hard to find. That is his principled opposition to settlement building in the occupied territories. Bronfman was convinced that the settlement project was fundamentally at odds with the long term interests of the state of Israel. In fact, he was not afraid to use the word "apartheid" when describing what he feared Israel was becoming.

Moderates on all sides have lost a powerful ally.