This feminist peace coalition representing Women Wage Peace from Israel and Women of the Sun from Palestine issued a full statement on the rapid escalation of violence in Gaza:
“Amidst the pain and the feeling that the belief in peace has collapsed, we extend a hand in peace to the mothers of Gaza and the West Bank. We mothers, together with women from all over the world must unite in order to stop this madness.”
On Oct. 4, 2023, just days before the Hamas attacks on Israel and the retaliatory Israeli aerial bombardment and siege on Gaza, thousands of Israeli and Palestinian feminist peace activists came together to promote peace and call upon political leaders to find a resolution to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
This feminist peace coalition represented two organizations: Women Wage Peace from Israel and Women of the Sun from Palestine. Unfortunately, just three days later, Hamas militants launched attacks on Israeli communities along the Gaza border, resulting in a tragic loss of more than 1,300 lives and the reported kidnapping of around 190 individuals, as per Israeli authorities.
In response to these events, Israel initiated a comprehensive siege on Gaza, involving the cutoff of power, water, and food supplies, along with a punishing aerial bombardment that led to the deaths of hundreds of Gazans and the displacement of many others. A substantial Israeli military ground invasion seems likely, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis, as the densely populated territory is under siege, and there are limited options for over two million Palestinians to seek refuge.
Veteran Canadian-Israeli activist Vivian Silver, a founding member of Women Wage Peace, is among those Israelis presumed kidnapped or murdered in the Hamas attack.
A week later the movement issued a full statement on the rapid escalation of violence in Gaza:
It took us a week to formulate this statement. We are a movement of Jewish and Arab women with diverse opinions. We found ourselves in a threatening, horrifying reality. Words can’t convey our past week’s experience. We’re searching for the right words to share.
First, we mourn the brutal murder, in an indescribable and unforgiveable massacre carried out by Hamas, of over 1,300 civilians, babies, children, women, men, the elderly, male and female soldiers, members of the security and rescue forces, among them Arab civilians and soldiers. We wish complete recovery and rehabilitation to the thousands injured in body and soul. We share the deep sorrow of members of Women Wage Peace who lost family members.
We offer support to WWP friends from Gaza who survived the horrific inferno. We’re terribly worried about the safety and fate of all those missing and abducted – among them peace activist Vivian Silver from Kibbutz Be’eri, a member of WWP. We demand that the Israeli government begin negotiations immediately for the release of all those who were abducted. We call on the Red Cross and the international community to ensure their safety and act for their immediate release.
Despite the rage and pain in the face of the criminal acts committed by Hamas, including incessant shelling of towns all over Israel, we must not lose human dignity. It is our obligation as mothers, women, human beings and as an entire nation not to lose these values. We hear words of revenge: “all restraints have been removed”, “we’ll wipe out Gaza”. But one cannot resolve one injustice with another injustice. We grieve the death of innocent Palestinians, among them hundreds of children, who are being killed in this accursed war.
This war proves, more than ever, that the concept of “managing the conflict” failed. The idea that dealing with the resolution of the conflict could be postponed indefinitely has been proved to be fundamentally wrong. For nine years since the end of “Operation Protective Edge”, we, Jewish and Arab mothers have been telling the leadership in Israel – enough! We must turn every stone in order to reach a political solution. This is our obligation for the future of our children.
This is our obligation to both Israeli and Palestinian children. They deserve a future of security and freedom, not a future of death, war and destruction. Despite the complexity of the issue, we and the Palestinians have no choice but to strive for a resolution of the conflict. More wars, bombings, and a never-ending cycle of bloodshed will not allow us and our children to live here normal lives. Conflicts in the world have been resolved by peace agreements. Hamas acts to destroy any chance for peace. Hamas has already managed to destroy the negotiations with Saudi Arabia. Hamas must not be allowed to win!
We know these words sound imaginary, naïve and unrealistic, but this is the truth and we must recognize it. Every mother, Jewish and Arab, gives birth to her children to see them grow and flourish and not to bury them. That’s why, even today, amidst the pain and the feeling that the belief in peace has collapsed, we extend a hand in peace to the mothers of Gaza and the West Bank. We mothers, together with women from all over the world must unite in order to stop this madness.
It is our obligation to say, even if it is difficult to say this now – Israel must consider its steps and actions responsibly and morally and prevent needless deaths of civilians and soldiers and, at the same time, wherever possible, prevent harm to innocent people in Gaza. We raise tough questions and expect answers: ground action, destruction of Gaza, forcing one million Palestinians to flee their homes -will all this lead to a future of security? What will happen the day after? Mustn’t we deal with the abductees first? Can our leaders answer?
We must maintain and strengthen the solidarity between the Jewish and Arab public in Israel and continue to act against racism and hatred. The Arab public, which has lived for years with its internal conflict, rallied in this difficult time for the sake of the entire Israel society. We demand that Israel prevent a flare-up in the West Bank and not allow extremist elements from both sides to incite the region, as has already happened this past week.
Last but not least, we will say that even though this is 2023, there are almost no women in decision-making forums in Israel. This is an intolerable situation that must change. We demand that the negotiation team for the release of the abductees include women.
May the memory of all the victims be blessed.
Both Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun were founded after the 2014 Gaza War, a 50-day conflict that caused mass displacement and injury and left more than 2,250 Palestinians dead. That included more than 550 children, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
In 2016, Women Wage Peace organized a mass March of Hope — which included 30,000 people in Israel and 3,000 Palestinians from the West Bank — carrying a message of peace in the wake of violence and death.