Women Speak Out for Pathway to Peace
(The complete Women Wage Peace Position Paper is at the link below)
Women Speak Out for Pathway to Peace
10/23/2023 by Pat Mitchell
Members of Women Wage Peace take part in a rally calling for coexistence and an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, along Jerusalem’s Old City walls, on May 19, 2021. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)
This article was originally published in Pat Mitchell’s blog and weekly newsletter.
There are times throughout recorded history when women have stepped up, spoken up, and taken action to resolve border and boundary disputes, to protect their cities, communities and families, and to demand and negotiate peaceful resolutions of long-term conflicts. I am reflecting on those times today as the suffering, death and destruction in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, and the violent oppression in Iran and Afghanistan, seem beyond our ability to do anything that would mediate the violence or end the suffering.
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And today, reflecting on the violence in Israel and Gaza, I am remembering—and honoring—the women who have been tirelessly working for a sustainable peace in the region for decades, some of whom I met and interviewed while making the 1991 documentary, “Women In War: Voices From the Frontlines.” In 1989, Belgian activist Simone Susskind helped convene a conference of Israeli and Palestinian women—the first-ever Women’s Peace Conference—in Brussels, called “Give Peace a Chance: Women Speak Out.”
Screengrabs from Women In War: Voices from the Frontlines, produced by Diana Meehan, Pat Mitchell and Mary Muldoon (Filmakers Library, 1991) Clockwise: “Give Peace a Chance: Women Speak Out” banner, Rep. Bella Abzug in attendance, and a view of the delegates from Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Europe and America.
I was there, deeply inspired by the many Arab and Jewish women leaders who came from many countries to show support and solidarity and to work together on a peace agreement. I’ll never forget the opening remarks from the presiding leaders to the hundreds of women present: “We have no time for grievances; We have three days to shape a peace agreement and get back to our families and our work.” I watched and listened with deep admiration as these women put aside their differences to draft a seven point agreement that would have provided a plan for a peaceful, secure future for Israel and the Palestinians. But regrettably, without enough women in either the Knesset or in the Palestinian Authority leadership at the time, the agreement was never given serious consideration.
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How we can activate to support the women of Women Wage Peace (https://www.womenwagepeace.org.il/en/)is not entirely clear, but I will try to provide updates in the weeks ahead. Of course, it must be said that all women are not united in their opinions about this war or on the pathways to peace, but knowing that these brave women are once again on the front lines, waging peace, sustains the light for many of us during a very dark time in our world.
https://msmagazine.com/2023/10/23/women-wage-peace-israel-palestine/