The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

In the midst of violence, while worried calls to friends and family follow -
ing every terrorist attack, and calls to Palestinian colleagues in Ramallah
following every bombardment and military operation, a close friend offered
me few moments of spirituality. We had to heal our souls.
A perfect opportunity came with the concert of the famous Emma
Kirkby. It was the March 8, 2001, International Women’s Day. However,
few days prior to the concert, she cancelled her trip to Jerusalem. In a
phone interview with a music critic of Haaretz newspaper, she explained
that she couldn’t sing while people are getting killed. The Israeli journal -
ist acted aggressively, accusing her for taking sides and criticizing Israel.
Kirkby, it must be noted, did not explicitly do so. She spoke about human
suffering and her moral dilemmas.
We decided to write her a letter of support: “… in times of political madness,
when political clichés fail to express the complexity of the situation,
it is the compass of human conscience that can be relied upon to
guide us. This was the message you expressed so wisely, and we thank
you for this reminder”.
The same year, 2001, one of the most popular daily newspapers, Maariv,
dedicated its main weekend magazine article to the group of Israeli
women who were leading and organizing the protest vigils and demon -
strations against the Israeli violence. It received attention, as not many
people dared to question the violence, and those who did were mainly
women. A personal as well as a group portrait was offered to the read -
ers of the newspaper. The huge headline the editor decided to give this
article was “The outcast”. The group photo of us, wearing black and
holding signs, next to the title, implied “subversives”, “danger”.
The same year my daughter, then seven years old, attended a mixed Jew -
ish-Arab school, just established in Jerusalem. A birthday party took
place of one of the Arab girls, who lived in the village of Beit Zafafa, near
the Israeli neighbourhood of Gilo and the Palestinian village of Beit Sahour.
It was a busy evening, as the Palestinians were shooting at Gilo,
while the Israeli army was bombing Beit Sahour. In the midst of another
round of violence, some twenty Jewish and Arab kids were playing together,
while their parents were sharing coffee and common concern,
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