Thousands of Israeli women from every part of the political and social spectrum along with members of Knesset [Parliament], over twenty mayors and other municipal leaders, cultural icons, Palestinian and Jordanian women and supporters from abroad including Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee, will take part in October’s March of Hope calling for a political agreement with the Palestinians.
The March of Hope, organized by the Israeli movement Women Wage Peace, will begin on Oct 4 and continue for two weeks, culminating Oct 19 in a mass rally in front of the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem, with simultaneous worldwide supporting events.
Marches of support will stretch the length of Israel during Oct 4 – 19 from Eilat and the Arava desert, to the Gaza border, to the coast, to Tel Aviv, to Acre, Uhm El Fahem and Kiryat Shmoneh in the far north. Other events include a 14-day/150 mile trek from the Lebanese border to Jerusalem, a torchlight parade in Ofakim, a traveling performance called “Looking Peace in the Eyes”, children’s activities, concerts and art exhibits, as well as rallies featuring prayers for peace. Popular Israeli singers Talma Alyagon and Yael Dekelbaum, who have written songs in honor of WWP’s March of Hope, will be sung by all. Fabric squares with messages of hope and peace will continue to be created during the March for a longer-term project, WWP’s Piece-for-Peace/Quilt Activism. Eventually they will be stitched together into the world’s largest quilt and spread between Jerusalem and Ramallah.
Founded in the summer of 2014 in response to the Gaza War, Women Wage Peace has grown rapidly into a broad-based grassroots movement with a core of nearly 10,000 Israelis and 23,000 supporters worldwide. The movement includes Jewish and Arab women from every part of the country – secular and religious, Mizrachi and Ashkenazi [North African, Middle Eastern and European descent], Russian emigrants, women from the settlements – all with diverse political views. Women Wage Peace also partners with Palestinian women, some 1,000 of whom along with public figures in the Palestinian Authority, plan to participate in the Israeli-Palestinian march from Jericho to Qasr el-Yahud near the Dead Sea on Oct 19.
Women Wage Peace is a uniquely non-partisan movement that promotes public support for a diplomatic agreement through a variety of creative actions and brings pressure to bear on decision- makers through a carefully crafted legislative agenda with monitoring carried out by dedicated volunteers. Despite the political diversity within Women Wage Peace, its members believe that women must take responsibility for the future of their children and that the equal representation of women in peace-making and reconciliation, as mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and Israeli law, greatly increases the chances for lasting peace.
Courtesy of Women Wage Peace
