Women, youth and dialogue are a recipe for peace in the Middle East
An event organized by a women’s movement nurtures a future of hope and peace for future generations in the Israel and Palestine.
Women, youth and dialogue are a recipe for peace in the Middle East. At least that’s what the Israel-based activist group showed us at their International Congress in Tel Aviv on November 27th 2018.
People from all edges of the country and from all around the world swarmed into the congress hosted at Tel Aviv University. But the real hostesses were the ladies of Women Wage Peace.
Women Wage Peace is a grassroots activist movement which was formed in response to the 2014 Gaza War. The group encompasses “tens of thousands of members from the right, the center and the left of the political spectrum, Jews and Arabs, religious and secular… all of whom are united in a demand for a mutually binding non-violent accord, agreeable to both sides.”
The central aim of the movement is twofold: firstly, to encourage peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine, and secondly, to enforce the UN resolution 1325 which “reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts.”
Their persistent activities, such as peacefully protesting at major junctions around Israel and being present in parliamentary discussions, has earned them a name and influence. From organizing major marches and demonstrations, the Women have now organized a phenomenal International Congress of Removing Barriers for Peace in the Middle East.
You could spot them as the women wearing white tops and turquoise scarves, floating around the congress. Throughout the various talks and workshops, peace was approached holistically — discussing politics, media, psychology, environment and history. However, three particular themes remained all-encompassing: women, youth and dialogue.
Women
“We don’t need research and statistics to know that if we include women, things are more likely to turn out well.”
So said peace activist Noam Shuster Eliassi in her opening of the conference. Feminism was applauded and celebrated the whole day.
Women create life, not destroy it, which makes it essential that women play an active role in the preservation of life and the prevention of war. This whole event is a first of its kind, and was organized entirely by women. Therefore, it showed a feminine consideration towards conflict. Women who care for life and for the children of the future showed their care in the structure of the congress. There was a clear emphasis of appealing to the youth of the country, who in the end are the most important for the peace process.
The diversity of women coming together came naturally hand in hand with the multitude of young people engaged both in the audience and on the stages. Of course, there were plenty of men in the picture as well. But never before had I seen such an event, so carefully designed to welcome peace.
Youth
“Our generation can and must come to a peace agreement.”
So answered one of the youth political party leaders.
Not only did the adult political party leaders from both left and right make a public appearance at the congress, but so did the youth leaders. They shared a panel which developed into heated discussions. However, their passion for politics was shared. When asked why to join politics, another answer included: “There needs to be something bothering you about the world to the point where it burns in your bones.”
Engaging the younger generations of the nation — the new leaders — was of great importance. Young people are the ones who will need to deconstruct the mentality of war. This goal was successfully reached with 700 out of 1000 participants under age 40, as one of the organizers, Miri Linder, proudly told me. Since this audience was considered difficult to reach, an extra event was organized to activate the youth:
A hackathon to find solutions to barriers for peace
Preluding the congress, Women Wage Peace organized a Hackathon for the younger generations of the land. Young Arabs, Druze, Israelis and Palestinians came together and for 24 hours worked hard in groups to come up with creative solutions for the violence in the Middle East. The three winners of the Hackathon presented their initiatives at the congress.
These included:
- “Unfiltered”: a social media app connecting people based on shared interests to converse regardless of borders. The group’s vision: “World peace already exists. All we need to do is expose it.”
- “The Ministry of Peace”: A governmental institution to ensure that peace is a continuous international process.
- “Hi(ghe)re me”: A network connecting skilled workers and employees around the Middle East, using an economic approach to peace.
The winners receive the extra tools to continue developing and presenting their work.
International and intranational dialogue
“There are no winners in a war — we’re all losers,” said General Kristin Lund, Norwegian Force Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. She has over 34 years of military experience, and is the first woman in her position. If such a woman, dressed in her military uniform, can support peace, so can we all.
International representatives and ambassadors discussed peace publically on the stages or privately over freshly brewed coffee. What is equally if not more important, were the intranational conversations — the ones between the different ethnicities and religions within Israel and Palestine.
Israeli and Palestinian parents share a stage and a tragic story
“A picture is worth a thousand words, and the two of us sitting here together is worth a thousand words.”
So said Sara Rosenfeld, a Jewish Israeli social worker, who sat together with Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Muslim Palestinian doctor and author. Together they represented the people who pay the highest price of the conflict: the loss of their child or children. Rosenfeld mourns the death of her son. He was killed by an Arab terrorist in the West Bank in 2015. Abuelaish mourns his three daughters and his niece. They were gruesomely killed by Israeli tank fire in 2009.
“I did not seek revenge,” Rosenfeld expressed. “All I ask is to be recognized, and to recognize the other at the same time.” Abuelaish agreed: “The man who opts for revenge digs two graves.”
Both of the bereaved parents turned their pain and loss into a new life ambition. Rosenfeld said, “I sacrificed my son for my mission for peace.” She speaks and shares her son’s story to promote the urgency of peace. Meanwhile, Abuelaish explained: “I want to meet my daughters one day with a big gift — that their blood was not wasted. This tragedy will be invested for good.” He founded the Daughter for Life Foundation, which provides education opportunities for women in the Middle East. He also published his book I Shall Not Hate in 2010.
Abuelaish continues to priorities the living in the world, while indebted to the women he lost. “Women, who give and nurture life… to kill one is to kill a world.”
The moderator, journalist Yoram Yovel, rounded up the session saying: “In the place where now one mother and one father sit, could be sitting two nations.”
A recipe for peace
“We wanted to convey the message that the security of the State of Israel is in a non-violent solution. Security is not necessarily another demonstration of power, but the ability to reach an agreement which respects both sides and provides a sane life for everyone.”
This is what Miri Linder wanted people to learn from the congress.
Peace or gender equality do not come around by themselves — it needs patience and persistence. What we are really looking at is a distribution of power. And the change needs to grow incrementally. At the congress, peace was examined both intellectually and intuitively. Knowledge and experiences were shared, and hope kindled.
Mothers often tend to pass on their recipes, but not only for delicious food; they pass on recipes for life, for care, for preservation and for change. It is time to accept this knowledge which is very much existent in society, and put it into action.
Photos from Women Wage Peace
