 |
|
STRATEGIES FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION: Human Security or Military Security Afghan Women: Securing a Seat at the Table The Middle East— Possibilities for Peace? What Has Happened to the Women of Kosova? A Glimpse of Global Fund Grantees in Conflict Zones ----------------------- Women's Funds Gathers Despite Global Turmoil Looming Catastrophe in Bangladesh ----------------------- |
 |
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
Bat Shalom is a grassroots organization of Jewish and Palestinian Israeli women working for a genuine peace grounded in the just resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict, respect for human rights, and an equal voice for Jewish and Arab women within Israeli society. Since 1994, Bat Shalom has been part of a bi-national project called the Jerusalem Link. Our partner in the Jerusalem Link is the Jerusalem Center for Women, a Palestinian organization in East Jerusalem.
Along with a coalition of women's peace groups, we have been creative and successful in raising an Israeli women's anti-occupation protest voice. We are out at military checkpoints and in the centers of major cities demonstrating against human rights violations. Hundreds of Israeli women have participated in our political education forums, many exposed for the first time to the controversial issues that have not been legitimized in Israeli public discourse. This March, Bat Shalom will begin a new tradition of Jewish and Palestinian Israeli women jointly commemorating Land Day, which marks the beginning of an Israeli policy of confiscation of land from Palestinian citizens of Israel for the building of Jewish settlements. For Palestinians, it is historically an opportunity to publicly remember, mourn and re-tell narratives of inequality, oppression and discrimination. For Jewish women, it prompts a re-examination of their personal histories and conflicting historical narratives. Bat Shalom and other peace organizations are made up of a committed and ever-growing constituency of women who continue to believe in the possibility of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace, and who are willing to serve as agents, advocates, activists and allies in the struggle to liberate this land from inhumanity and occupation. As women who continue to consistently and ferociously "prioritize life," we know that we have a joint destiny to fulfill.
Although 2001 has been difficult and challenging for the Jerusalem Center for Women (JCW), we managed to overcome many obstacles and put our work back on track. During the past year, the Israeli war of attrition on the Palestinian people and their leadership continued. The siege imposed on villages, refugee camps and cities negatively affected everyone and every institution. It highlighted political differences with our Israeli counterpart, Bat Shalom, straining our shared work. Our Co-Founder and Executive Director, Sumaya Farhat-Naser [a Global Fund Board member], resigned. However, the commitment to peace sustained our collaborative work. Since January 2002, JCW has focused on two major areas: a human rights, democracy and advocacy training program (HRDA), and a peacebuilding program. HRDA trains young girls, adult women and college students from the Jerusalem district. Through these training programs, JCW aims to empower women to engage in community and political activism, and to protect and advance Palestinian women's rights. The peacebuilding program has three elements: providing training on conflict resolution and mediation techniques, carrying out peaceful protest actions, and renewing the dialogue with Bat Shalom on our future feminist vision and strategies for peace. Finally, JCW has been at the core of a Palestinian women's initiative to establish a Palestinian women's movement for peace and justice. We can and we should lead that struggle.
|
