Women Wage Peace
Formation | 2014 |
---|---|
Directors | Vivian Silver, Yael Braudo-Bahat |
Website | www |
Women Wage Peace (WWP; Hebrew: נשים עושות שלום, romanized: Nashim Osot Shalom; Arabic: نساء يصنعن السلام) is an Israeli grassroots peace movement, formed shortly after the Gaza War in 2014. Its primary goal is to pressure the Israeli government into achieving a "bilaterally acceptable political agreement" to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with a target date of 2018.[1]
Origin[edit]
While originally started by Israeli women, including peace activist Vivian Silver,[2] the movement has worked to build connections with Palestinian women, also reaching out to both women and men of many other local regions and religious backgrounds.[3][4] It was inspired by similar women's movements in Northern Ireland and Liberia, where women of different faiths had united to help resolve violent conflicts.[3][5] Inspiration also came from the Four Mothers movement, established in 1997, which ultimately influenced Israel's military withdrawal from South Lebanon.[6]
The movement has its basis on two main objectives:[7]
- To encourage peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority
- To urge the enforcement of UN resolution 1325 which "reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts"
Membership[edit]
As of May 2017, Women Wage Peace had more than 20,000 members and supporters.[4]
Activities[edit]
2015 Israel General Election[edit]
In March 2015, members of the movement protested outside the Israel Parliament building in Jerusalem, calling for politicians to put more priority on peace talks in the general election debates.[8]
2015 Operation Protective Fast[edit]
In 2015, from July 8 to August 26, Women Wage Peace staged a collective fast outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's formal residence, timing their symbolic 50-day "Operation Protective Fast" to coincide with the anniversary of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza the previous year.[9][10] Approximately 300 women and men participated, joining the protest in shifts.[6] In early September, a week after the hunger strike had concluded, four members of the movement were invited to a formal meeting with Netanyahu to discuss the possibility of renewing peace talks with Palestine.[6]
2016 March for Peace[edit]
In October 2016, over 3000 Israeli and Palestinian women participated in a Women Wage Peace march from Northern Israel to Jerusalem, ending with a rally in front of Prime Minister Netanyahu's formal residence.[3][11] Among the speakers at the rally was Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate known for helping to end the Second Liberian Civil War.[3]
Following the march, Canadian-Israeli singer and activist Yael Deckelbaum of Habanot Nechama collaborated with Women Wage Peace to create the song "Prayer of the Mothers", which included clips of a speech by Gbowee.[12][13] As of May 2017, the music video had received over 3 million views on YouTube.[14]
2017 activities[edit]
The movement has continued to remain active, building pressure and awareness around the need for peaceful conflict resolution.[4]
In March 2017, at an International Women's Day reception in Tel Aviv, more than a dozen foreign female ambassadors pledged their support for the Women Wage Peace movement.[15]
On May 13, 2017, the Israeli music network Constant Culture announced that they had created an EDM compilation album in support of peace, with all proceeds going to Women Wage Peace.[16]
On May 18, 2017, members of Women Wage Peace met in Tel Aviv in advance of U.S. President Donald Trump's first visit to Israel, creating a human chain that spelled out "ready for peace".[17][18]
Collaborations[edit]
They have collaborated multiple times with the Palestinian organization Women of the Sun, who have a similar objective.[19][20]
In late 2021 and early 2022, both groups worked together on forming a "joint platform".[21] In March 2022, coalitions from both groups met at Neve Midbar Beach on the Dead Sea for a peace conference.[21][22]
On October 4, 2023, just days before the onset of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war which included the murder of the organisation's founder Vivian Silver by Hamas militants, the two groups organized a peace march in Jerusalem, from the Monument of Tolerance to the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood.[20]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Mission Statement | Women Wage Peace". Women Wage Peace. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
- ^ Norlian, Allison. "Living On The Border Of Gaza And Israel: How An Israeli Woman Fights For Peace". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
- ^ a b c d "These Israeli women marched from the Lebanese border to Jerusalem. Here's why". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ a b c "A women's movement that is trying to bring peace to Israel". dna. 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ "Women Wage Peace and our March of hope / Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum, She Who Knows – Magazine for Awakening Women, 2017 | Women Wage Peace". Women Wage Peace. 2017-03-12. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ a b c "Hunger-striking women's group hopes to bring peace to Israel". Al-Monitor. 2015-09-03. Archived from the original on 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ "Women who Wage Peace". The Statesman. Retrieved 2017-05-24.
- ^ "Women wage peace: Israel group says enough war, push for talks with Palestine". Firstpost. 2015-03-06. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ "Israeli women launch fast for peace on Gaza war anniversary". Public Radio International. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ "Operation Protective Fast: Striving for peace between Israelis and Palestinians". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ "WATCH: Coexistence mothers' prayer song goes viral". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
- ^ Haaretz (2016-11-20). "'Prayer of the Mothers' Honors Thousands of Jewish and Arab Women Marching for Peace". Haaretz. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ "Prayer Of The Mothers". HuffPost UK. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ Yael Deckelbaum (2016-11-15), Yael Deckelbaum / Prayer of the Mothers – Official video, retrieved 2017-05-21
- ^ "Female diplomats serving in Israel pledge support for Women Wage Peace". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ White, Nick (2017-05-13). "Music For Peace – An EDM Compilation Made For Charity". EDM Sauce. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ "++Israel Trump | AP Archive". Aparchive.com. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ "Israel: Women send message of peace to Donald Trump". Msn.com. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
- ^ Byrne, Siobhan (2023-10-17). "How women in Israel and Palestine are pushing for peace — together". The Conversation. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
- ^ a b Lazaroff, Tovah (2023-10-04). "US: Palestinian, Israeli women are silent heroines of quest for peace". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
- ^ a b Abu Toameh, Khaled (2022-03-26). "Israeli, Palestinian women call to revive peace talks". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
- ^ "Israeli and Palestinian mothers gather for peace by Dead Sea". Arab News. 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2023-10-18.