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In this issue:

- What to do next? the Israeli elections and WWP
- Press Release on the new governing coalition
- Living and working together within Israel
- Top journalists meet diplomats
- the Dalai Lama recognizes our movement
- More about diplomats, NGOs, tourists, volunteers
- Clips worth watching
- a woman waging peace - Shula Bohbot
- holiday greetings with many lights

Restoring Hope to Places of Pain headlined our previous newsletter. Since then, as you know, this country has undergone a sea change as a result of Israel’s fifth election in three and a half years. Parties with avowedly racist and discriminatory political stances, numbering few if any women among their ranks, have secured a majority in the Knesset. Needless to say, advocacy for peace talks with our Palestinian neighbors is not a consideration in the new governing coalition’s political calculus. Many of us are deeply worried about signs of significant deterioration in the capability of the Israeli judicial and security systems to defend human rights and the rule of law, and of the educational system to engage young minds in a commitment to our shared humanity as well as to shared prosperity in this region. We also see attacks on minorities, both in Israel and in the West Bank, continuing.

We recognize nevertheless that despair is not a work plan.

what to do next? the Israeli elections and WWP

Women Wage Peace (WWP)has been hosting in-depth discussions about how to scale up, given the new political landscape, our approach to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the equal participation of diverse groups of women. As the civil rights of Palestinians living under military rule in the West Bank are further constrained and the authority of the Palestinian Authority continues to weaken, we are haunted daily by the prospect of unceasing unrest, violence, and the loss of more of our children and grandchildren.

Our Palestinian sister movement, Women of the Sun (WOS), has been of tremendous support to WWP during these difficult days, encouraging and advising us out of their own experience navigating difficult and often hostile environments. Reem Hajajreh, Co-Founder and Director of WOS, told us: We believe that we were created for the sake of peace, and we will spend the rest of our lives defending this belief.

The upshot of our recent intensive discussions is a work plan for the coming six months based on
- recruiting more Israeli Arab members to WWP
- recruiting many more young women
- increasing collaboration with other civic organizations
- showing the world (especially through the international diplomatic community and
   foreign NGOs stationed here) that strong civil organizations still exist and are
   determined to continue their work
- wielding optimism as a powerful tool in all we do

press release on the new governing coalition

Dec. 6, 2022. The Likud party’s agreements with the Religious Zionism party create a situation in which its leader, MK Bezalel Smotrich, will become the de-facto prime minister of the West Bank. His plans, as published, will be another nail in the coffin of the possibility for a political agreement as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Such plans condemn our children to a future of continued conflict, with frequent escalation into war, along with terrorist attacks, increased racism, and continued control over another people.

 Read more...

living and working together within Israel

WWP believes strongly in good relations among neighbors and we continue bringing various populations together. Over 50 WWP activists with children and teens have joined a march held every year in Modi’in. It is organized by “marching without borders” and brings Israelis from all walks of life to walk and run together.

Recently, WWP activists and women of Jisr-a-Zarqa launched an initiative to support, empower and motivate women living within an atmosphere of violence.

A conference on shared life in mixed Arab and Jewish cities was held in Dalit El Carmel on behalf of the Liberal Druze Association. The only female speaker was Gadir Hani, member of WWP, who emphasized the importance of including more and more women in local and national leadership.

top journalists meet diplomats

Eti Livni, former Member of Knesset, and Angela Scharf, co-coordinator of the WWP Foreign Relations team, moderated a meeting between the international diplomatic corps stationed in Israel and esteemed Israeli journalists Ari Shavit, Henrique Cymerman, and Tal Schneider a few days after the Israeli elections. More than forty members of the diplomatic community from a broad range of countries received an in-depth analysis of the election and its aftermath. Listen here to this important discussion.

the Dalai Lama recognizes our movement

Dharamsala, India, November 2022. His Holiness the Dalai Lama met with two members of WWP, Ruth Katz Klein and Anat Har-Lev Or, at his temple in McLeod Ganj. Ruth and Anat introduced the unique nature of our peace movement, explained the Mothers’ Call, and presented him with an image of the peace doves on the separation wall in Kerem Shalom at the Gaza border. The Dalai Lama expressed great interest in our work both in Israel and with our Palestinian partners, Women of the Sun. He carefully read our mutual call created with WOS, urging an end to the conflict now, with the full participation of women in all aspects of negotiation. While there, Ruth and Anat also spoke to many visitors from all over the world about WWP and noted that their reactions were uniformly warm and encouraging.

Haven't signed the Mothers’ Call yet? Now’s the time!

more about diplomats, NGOs, tourists, volunteers

Angela Scharf, co-coordinator of WWP’s Foreign Relations team, knows how important it is to build relationships with the diplomatic corps stationed in Israel. In addition to their overwhelming support, they assist in setting up connections with journalists and various organizations in their home countries, and spread the word about WWP and WOS among diplomats stationed elsewhere.

- during the past two months, WWP and WOS have met with diplomats from Morocco, Jordan, Bahrain, and Egypt.

- H.E. Steffen Seibert, Germany’s ambassador to Israel wrote on Twitter: “It is women like Angela Scharf from @WomenWagePeace who maintain the vision of a peaceful, just, & secure future for Israelis and Palestinians. Thank you for coming today to tell me more about your #MothersCall petition that has tens of thousands of Jewish and Arab women behind it.”

- the Irish ambassador and his deputies hosted WWP and several Irish nationals including Gary Mason, who had organized a seminar for a WWP delegation to Belfast several years ago, and Ms. Debbie Waters, a senior justice expert and member of the Northern Ireland Police Audit Committee

- a delegation of young leaders from the “Rethinking Conflict” seminar met with representatives of civil organizations working for a shared society, including WWP, the Abraham initiative, Amal-Tikva, and the Negev Coexistence Forum.

- international NGOs, tourist groups, and volunteers from abroad have shown a growing interest in the activities of WWP with WOS, with many meetings during the past two months.

clips worth watching

a woman waging peace, Shula Bohbot

holiday greetings

We know that light always triumphs over darkness in the end, but it’s good to be reminded of that during the winter holidays. May your own holiday celebrations be happy, blessed, and quiet.
We want you to know that your faith in us has been a very great gift indeed and has helped carry us far. Thank you. May we continue to work together toward lasting peace.