Women waging peace rally for hope
A growing movement of Israeli and Palestinian activists presses for talks to resume, writes Ruth Eglash
THREE weeks ago, a small group of Israeli women set off on a protest march to Jerusalem from northern Israel to demand that the Israeli government restart a peace process with the Palestinians.
Last Wednesday, after reaching the Palestinian city of Jericho in the West Bank, the core group of 20 women were joined by more than 3 000 others, including about 1 000 Palestinian women.
Although most of the Palestinians could not proceed beyond the barrier that separates the West Bank from Israel, the Israeli women headed for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s formal residence, where they held an emotional rally.
The group, which calls itself Women Wage Peace, is made up of women from across the political spectrum and the religious divide. At the rally, many held banners reading: “Right, Centre and Left are all calling for an agreement, Women Wage Peace”.
“We are not an organisation; we are a movement. We have defined goals, and when we reach those goals, we will disband,” said Marie-Lyne Smadja, a co-founder of the group. “From history, we have seen that when women were involved in resolving conflicts, there was much more success.”
Organisers of the group point to UN Resolution 1325, which “urges all actors to increase the participation of women and incorporate gender perspectives in all United Nations peace and security efforts”. They say that it worked in Northern Ireland and in Liberia.
The movement was founded two years ago after the Gaza war, when many Israeli mothers had to send their sons to fight.
Vardit Kaplan, who serves as the movement’s spokesperson, said more than 10 000 women had registered with the group.
And, she said, they had been building connections with Palestinian women, some of whom joined the march to Jerusalem.
“I came because I want to see a peace agreement with the Palestinians,” said Tanya Harkavi, who is from the city of Kfar Saba, near Tel Aviv.
Harkavi, a mother and a grandmother, said women were better positioned to solve disputes because of their roles within the family and that it was time they became involved in the dispute with the Palestinians, too.
“Two years ago, my son was in the army; he fought in the Gaza war. I decided then that I did not want to launder army uniforms anymore. I want peace,” said Miki Rom, who also lives near Tel Aviv.
One of the rally’s key speakers was Michal Froman, a religious Jew from the Israeli settlement of Tekoa. She was stabbed this past January at a clothing store by a Palestinian teenager from a nearby village.
Froman, the daughter-in-law of Rabbi Menachem Froman, a well-known peace activist, was three months pregnant at the time.
“It was important for me to speak here because I want people to know the settlements are not preventing peace. I think the opposite: that peace will come from the settlements,” said Froman, who brought her 4-month-old daughter to the rally.
Olfat Haider, an Arab Israeli from Haifa, was among the group that walked from the north of Israel to Jerusalem. She said she believed “Jews and Arabs can live together, and must live together”.
“It’s time to hear some women’s voices. Women can talk to each other; they don’t fight with their egos,” she said.
Each speaker at the rally received rapturous applause. But for many in Israel, such gatherings come with a degree of hopelessness.
Since peace efforts by US Secretary of State John F Kerry failed more than two years ago, there has been little attempt by either side to return to talks.
Among the speakers was Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee, who helped bring an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. After two days in Israel, walking with Jewish and Palestinian women, she said she believed there were partners for peace on both sides and that finding a solution was possible.
“I say to my sisters in Israel, that this is your time to stand up and say no to war and yes to peace,” said Gbowee, the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. “When you stand firm for what you believe, the men with guns are afraid of you.” – The Washington Post