Wright writes: "Though the Israel-Palestine conflict has been mostly off the
mainstream media's radar recently, this long-running crisis drew the
attention this month of two women Nobel Peace Prize winners."
Children with Palestinian flags. (photo: EPA)
Women Call for Israel-Palestine Peace
By Ann Wright, Consortium News
26 October 16
Though the Israel-Palestine conflict has been mostly off the mainstream
media's radar recently, this long-running crisis drew the attention this
month of two women Nobel Peace Prize winners, reports Ann Wright.
On Oct. 5, two women Nobel Peace Laureates were at opposite ends of Israel,
each working for peace in different ways. One was walking in Israel with
Israeli and Palestinian women with hopes for peace in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the other sailed on the Women's Boat to Gaza
to challenge the Israeli blockade of the 1.8 million Palestinians trapped in
the crowded Gaza Strip.
Mairead Maguire, the 1977 Nobel Peace Laureate from Northern Ireland who had
sailed 1,000 miles in nine days with 13 women from 13 countries, was stopped
in international waters by the Israeli military, taken into custody and
brought to the southern Israeli port of Ashdod.
On the same day, Leymah Gbowee, the 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate from Liberia,
was to the north, on the Israeli border with Lebanon and spoke at the
beginning of a two-week "Walk for Hope" through Israel with approximately
5,000 Israeli and Palestinian women.
Gbowee also spoke at the closing ceremony of the walk on Oct. 19 in
Jerusalem at a rally in a square near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
residence.
"If you cannot see hope, if you cannot see peace, then you are blind,"
Gbowee said. "You must reject the narrative that war is the destiny of our
children. War is easy, making peace is hard. But sisters, today you've made
history! No one will be able to ignore your call for peace any more."
In an interview with the Haaretz newspaper, Gbowee added: "Men try to demean
women's activism as if it isn't important, as if it isn't 'the real stuff.'
But guns and bombs are not aimed only at men. Women suffer real pain - and
we have real things to say. And women have the ability to come together and
bridge our divides - and that is very real, very political and very
powerful."
Many other women's voices from Israel and Palestine were heard at the Oct.
19 rally.
Women's Power
Hind Khoury, an economist who was the Minister of Jerusalem Affairs in the
Palestinian Authority and the delegate general of the Palestinian Liberation
Organization to France from 2006 until 2010, said, "This is women's power at
it's best. But will you last? Will you do the hard work? The hard part
begins tomorrow - will you keep up the hope in our region that is plagued
with violence and despair? The 50 years of rule over the Palestinian people,
from cradle to grave, cannot go on. Our people are ready for peace.
President Abbas is ready for peace. We women have come together to tell all
our leaders to work towards a negotiated agreement."
Fadwa Shear from Ramallah said, "We cannot count on men to create peace. We
will have to do it by ourselves. We are political women calling on our
leaders to reach a political agreement. I am very proud to be here."
The voices of Israeli women were also heard. According to the Haaretz
article, "Hadassah Froman, widow of Rabbi Menachem Froman, and her
daughter-in-law Michal, who was pregnant when she was wounded in a stabbing
attack by a Palestinian in January, 2016, both spoke at the demonstration.
The two women, who live in the West Bank settlement of Tekoa, were
reportedly warmly welcomed by the crowd. 'There is great energy here, and it
can bring us to a new way, to change,' said Hadassah Froman.
"As she held her infant daughter, Michal Froman added, 'I believe that
peace, as we want it to be, will come from a place where we can see what is
possible and what is impossible. The right can be part of peace, too. Life
will be better here if we stop seeing ourselves as the victims of terror or
the victims of the occupation. We all have to get over this and begin to
work hard.'"
Peace Reciprocity
The goal of working across religious and ethnic lines was echoed by
Palestinians as well. Huda Abuarqoub, regional director of the Alliance for
Middle East Peace and a resident of Hebron, said, "I came as a Palestinian
woman from the Occupied Territories to say, enough is enough! It's time for
peace and security for both people. . You saw this morning how many
Palestinian women joined you. I am here as Palestinian to say clear and loud
- you have a partner!"
Hamutal Gouri, a women's activist and a Women Wage Peace leader, ended the
rally at Qasr al-Yahud, "Motherhood is not only the act of bearing and
rearing our own children. Motherhood is a spiritual and ethical position of
responsibility for the world and for future generations."
Gouri told Haaretz, "The world does not need another peace plan. There are
already many excellent plans. What we need is true intent to make peace. And
that is what we women are demanding from our leaders: determination and
courage to engage in peace negotiations."
Women Wage Peace, the organizer and sponsor of the "Walk for Hope," is a
non-partisan women's group founded in 2014 at the end of Operation
Protective Edge, the 51-day Israeli attack on Gaza in which some 2,300
Palestinians and 72 Israelis (66 soldiers and six civilians) were killed.
Women Wage Peace calls for an agreement between Israel and Palestine that
will be respectful, non-violent and accepted by both sides. Organizers say
the group is funded mainly by small donations from Israel and abroad, as
well as by the Women Donors Network in the United States.
The Palestinian Authority provided political and financial support to the
walk including chartering buses, and purchasing water and hats with a dove
logo that the women wore, many over their hijabs.
More than 2,500 Jewish and Arab Israeli women arrived on buses and were
joined by more than 1,000 Palestinian women from the West Bank. Over the
next week, Women Wage Peace will set up a "peace tent" at Qasr al-Yahud, the
historic baptism site on the Jordan River.
Maguire's Account
Regarding the 1,000 mile voyage of the Women's Boat to Gaza, Mairead Maguire
described what happened as the boat approached Gaza: "myself and all of the
women who sailed on the Women's Boat to Gaza have been arrested and are in
detention in Israel. We were arrested, kidnapped illegally in international
waters, and taken against our wish into Israel.
"This has happened to me before. We will be deported and, tragically, not
allowed back to see our friends in Palestine and in Israel. This is totally
illegal. As men and - as women from many countries, we uphold our freedom of
movement in any part of our world. So, . work for the freedom and human
rights, the lifting of the blockade against the people of Gaza and for the
freedom for the Palestinian people and peace in the Middle East. We can all
do this together. It is not a dream. And we are here in person because we
care for human rights, for human dignity for the Palestinian people."
While on the high seas on the voyage to Gaza on the Women's Boat to Gaza,
Maguire wrote: "As in Gaza, so too around our world, millions of children
are suffering because of government policies of militarism and war and
violence of armed struggles. This cycle of escalating violence must be
broken, least it spin out of control. It is not too late, we can turn around
from war to peace, from force to friendship, from hate to forgiveness and
love, it is a choice. We are powerful each in our own way. We can, when we
believe passionately in love, change to a non-killing nonviolent world."
As a participant with Mairead Maguire on the Women's Boat to Gaza, I wish
the Israeli government would have allowed the 13 women from 13 countries on
our boat to join the "Walk for Hope," but I guess that was too much to
"hope" for!
________________________________________
Ann Wright served 29 years in the US Army/Army Reserves and retired as a
Colonel. She also served in the US diplomatic corps for 16 years and
resigned in 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. She was the boat leader
of the Zaytouna-Olivia, her fourth mission with the Gaza Freedom Flotilla
coalition to challenge the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Children with Palestinian flags. (photo: EPA)
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/10/25/women-call-for-israel-palestine-peace/
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/10/25/women-call-for-israel-palestine-peace/
Women Call for Israel-Palestine Peace
By Ann Wright, Consortium News
26 October 16
Though the Israel-Palestine conflict has been mostly off the mainstream
media's radar recently, this long-running crisis drew the attention this
month of two women Nobel Peace Prize winners, reports Ann Wright.
n Oct. 5, two women Nobel Peace Laureates were at opposite ends of Israel,
each working for peace in different ways. One was walking in Israel with
Israeli and Palestinian women with hopes for peace in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the other sailed on the Women's Boat to Gaza
to challenge the Israeli blockade of the 1.8 million Palestinians trapped in
the crowded Gaza Strip.
Mairead Maguire, the 1977 Nobel Peace Laureate from Northern Ireland who had
sailed 1,000 miles in nine days with 13 women from 13 countries, was stopped
in international waters by the Israeli military, taken into custody and
brought to the southern Israeli port of Ashdod.
On the same day, Leymah Gbowee, the 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate from Liberia,
was to the north, on the Israeli border with Lebanon and spoke at the
beginning of a two-week "Walk for Hope" through Israel with approximately
5,000 Israeli and Palestinian women.
Gbowee also spoke at the closing ceremony of the walk on Oct. 19 in
Jerusalem at a rally in a square near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
residence.
"If you cannot see hope, if you cannot see peace, then you are blind,"
Gbowee said. "You must reject the narrative that war is the destiny of our
children. War is easy, making peace is hard. But sisters, today you've made
history! No one will be able to ignore your call for peace any more."
In an interview with the Haaretz newspaper, Gbowee added: "Men try to demean
women's activism as if it isn't important, as if it isn't 'the real stuff.'
But guns and bombs are not aimed only at men. Women suffer real pain - and
we have real things to say. And women have the ability to come together and
bridge our divides - and that is very real, very political and very
powerful."
Many other women's voices from Israel and Palestine were heard at the Oct.
19 rally.
Women's Power
Hind Khoury, an economist who was the Minister of Jerusalem Affairs in the
Palestinian Authority and the delegate general of the Palestinian Liberation
Organization to France from 2006 until 2010, said, "This is women's power at
it's best. But will you last? Will you do the hard work? The hard part
begins tomorrow - will you keep up the hope in our region that is plagued
with violence and despair? The 50 years of rule over the Palestinian people,
from cradle to grave, cannot go on. Our people are ready for peace.
President Abbas is ready for peace. We women have come together to tell all
our leaders to work towards a negotiated agreement."
Fadwa Shear from Ramallah said, "We cannot count on men to create peace. We
will have to do it by ourselves. We are political women calling on our
leaders to reach a political agreement. I am very proud to be here."
The voices of Israeli women were also heard. According to the Haaretz
article, "Hadassah Froman, widow of Rabbi Menachem Froman, and her
daughter-in-law Michal, who was pregnant when she was wounded in a stabbing
attack by a Palestinian in January, 2016, both spoke at the demonstration.
The two women, who live in the West Bank settlement of Tekoa, were
reportedly warmly welcomed by the crowd. 'There is great energy here, and it
can bring us to a new way, to change,' said Hadassah Froman.
"As she held her infant daughter, Michal Froman added, 'I believe that
peace, as we want it to be, will come from a place where we can see what is
possible and what is impossible. The right can be part of peace, too. Life
will be better here if we stop seeing ourselves as the victims of terror or
the victims of the occupation. We all have to get over this and begin to
work hard.'"
Peace Reciprocity
The goal of working across religious and ethnic lines was echoed by
Palestinians as well. Huda Abuarqoub, regional director of the Alliance for
Middle East Peace and a resident of Hebron, said, "I came as a Palestinian
woman from the Occupied Territories to say, enough is enough! It's time for
peace and security for both people. . You saw this morning how many
Palestinian women joined you. I am here as Palestinian to say clear and loud
- you have a partner!"
Hamutal Gouri, a women's activist and a Women Wage Peace leader, ended the
rally at Qasr al-Yahud, "Motherhood is not only the act of bearing and
rearing our own children. Motherhood is a spiritual and ethical position of
responsibility for the world and for future generations."
Gouri told Haaretz, "The world does not need another peace plan. There are
already many excellent plans. What we need is true intent to make peace. And
that is what we women are demanding from our leaders: determination and
courage to engage in peace negotiations."
Women Wage Peace, the organizer and sponsor of the "Walk for Hope," is a
non-partisan women's group founded in 2014 at the end of Operation
Protective Edge, the 51-day Israeli attack on Gaza in which some 2,300
Palestinians and 72 Israelis (66 soldiers and six civilians) were killed.
Women Wage Peace calls for an agreement between Israel and Palestine that
will be respectful, non-violent and accepted by both sides. Organizers say
the group is funded mainly by small donations from Israel and abroad, as
well as by the Women Donors Network in the United States.
The Palestinian Authority provided political and financial support to the
walk including chartering buses, and purchasing water and hats with a dove
logo that the women wore, many over their hijabs.
More than 2,500 Jewish and Arab Israeli women arrived on buses and were
joined by more than 1,000 Palestinian women from the West Bank. Over the
next week, Women Wage Peace will set up a "peace tent" at Qasr al-Yahud, the
historic baptism site on the Jordan River.
Maguire's Account
Regarding the 1,000 mile voyage of the Women's Boat to Gaza, Mairead Maguire
described what happened as the boat approached Gaza: "myself and all of the
women who sailed on the Women's Boat to Gaza have been arrested and are in
detention in Israel. We were arrested, kidnapped illegally in international
waters, and taken against our wish into Israel.
"This has happened to me before. We will be deported and, tragically, not
allowed back to see our friends in Palestine and in Israel. This is totally
illegal. As men and - as women from many countries, we uphold our freedom of
movement in any part of our world. So, . work for the freedom and human
rights, the lifting of the blockade against the people of Gaza and for the
freedom for the Palestinian people and peace in the Middle East. We can all
do this together. It is not a dream. And we are here in person because we
care for human rights, for human dignity for the Palestinian people."
While on the high seas on the voyage to Gaza on the Women's Boat to Gaza,
Maguire wrote: "As in Gaza, so too around our world, millions of children
are suffering because of government policies of militarism and war and
violence of armed struggles. This cycle of escalating violence must be
broken, least it spin out of control. It is not too late, we can turn around
from war to peace, from force to friendship, from hate to forgiveness and
love, it is a choice. We are powerful each in our own way. We can, when we
believe passionately in love, change to a non-killing nonviolent world."
As a participant with Mairead Maguire on the Women's Boat to Gaza, I wish
the Israeli government would have allowed the 13 women from 13 countries on
our boat to join the "Walk for Hope," but I guess that was too much to
"hope" for!
Ann Wright served 29 years in the US Army/Army Reserves and retired as a
Colonel. She also served in the US diplomatic corps for 16 years and
resigned in 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. She was the boat leader
of the Zaytouna-Olivia, her fourth mission with the Gaza Freedom Flotilla
coalition to challenge the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
