Dear  

Holiday Greetings from our Building Bridges Group

This has been a very difficult year, straining our faith in the goodness of humanity and in a better future, but our holidays teach us that we can emerge from these challenges stronger and with greater commitment.

As we approach Chanukah and Christmas, the festivals that bring light into the dark winter, we are reminded that all our faiths are sources of hope in times of trouble. Chanukah tells the story of the power of a few to change the world. Christmas is about hope and the belief that the world is on a trajectory towards forgiveness and goodness. And Islam, which celebrates in January the holiday of the Prophet Muhammed, spreads a message of light and thanksgiving.

Our “Women Building Bridges” project, brings together Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze, has confirmed for us that our faith in each other is as important as in our religion. May we spread light and be beacons for peace.

Raefa Hakroush and Peta Jones Pellach,
Co-moderators of Women Building Bridges Group, Maa'minot

Peace Train to Sderot: 10 years of WWP

Ten years ago a thousand women boarded a Peace Train from all over the country, met up at Sapir College in Sderot at the Gaza border to declare the establishment of Women Wage Peace. Just after 50-day Gaza War of 2014 ended, we came together to call for an end to the many cycles of violence and to claim our place at the negotiating table. This year we mark 10 years of the dedication, determination, and action for a peace agreement which involves women participation and activism. We boarded the Peace Train to Sderot again, just like we did back then. We paused for a moment to mark a year without our beloved late Vivian Silver, who was murdered on Oct 7th last year in her home on Kibbutz Beeri. And we reflected on how she brought reconciliation and friendship to this land. We drew strength to continue and to look ahead, because there is no choice, and because we believe that it is possible.

We invite you to watch the following video which we compiled from among the many stations in our journey, representing our continuous work: influencing decision-makers, public opinion and the global public opinion, diverse activities, Regulation 1325, cooperation with our Palestinian sisters, learning how to resolve conflicts, and many more. 

And after looking back for a moment and seeing all that we have done, we can only regret that we weren’t listened to!

It's Time - Cooperation for Peace

The devastating attack on the 7th of October and the war that ensued has proven us all that working towards peace is not an easy task. However, if we do it together, and we include everyone, the bumps along the road become easier to bear.

That spirit of cooperation has been growing since a coalition of 50 organizations  held a rally at the country’s Menora Arena on July 1, 2024. Earlier this month we rode together for six days, Arabs and Jews, as part of the People's Journey to Peace. The convoy made 14 stops from Shefaram in the north of Israel to Moshav Netiv Ha’asara in the South, just north of the Gaza border, one of the communities that bore the brunt of the Oct 7th attack by Hamas. We sang, strengthened one another, and spread the word that It’s Time –– time to reach an agreement, end the war in Gaza, and take the first steps toward a truly sustainable peace.

Our journey together has just begun: the many organizations involved in the People's Journey to Peace will meet again at the People's Peace Summit on 3 – 4 April 2025, in Jerusalem. Stay tuned!

Our Members Abroad

Members of our movement are always engaged in international advocacy, whether in Israel, among the diplomatic community, or abroad, meeting key figures and politicians, being interviewed by international media or speaking to local groups. Most recently, three members of our movement, Pascale Chen, Angela Scharf and Orna Ashkenazi visited Strasbourg, Belgium and the Netherlands respectively. Pascale Chen participated in a roundtable organized by the European Parliament representing WWP alongside WOS as finalists of the Sakharov Award, clink here to watch, watch the inspiring roundtable through this link. Angela discussed the situation in Europe with Helene Le Gal, EEAS Managing Director for Middle East and North Africa, the expectations of our European counterparts in this time of turbulence and the importance of continuing to work for peace with Women of the Sun. Orna introduced the work of Women Wage Peace in a local community church, and was interviewed in the local media. Read here in Dutch.

If you are part of, or have connections to local leaders within your country and are eager for them to hear from our women activists, you are welcome to contact our foreign relations coordinator Angela Scharf at internationalrelations@womenwagepeace.org.il

International Support Groups

We are heartened to share the news that international support groups for WWP and our Palestinian sister movement, Women of the Sun (WOS), are growing. They are sharing our message that the possibility for peace is not mere wishful thinking, at least not when women come together and mobilize. In the face of all the inflammatory rhetoric that bombards the world and only adds fuel to the fire, and in order to avoid falling into the trap of hatred, despair, and a sense of powerlessness, these support groups are committed to following the example of WWP & WOS. Like the women of our movements themselves, women abroad are uniting to demonstrate that an alternative to the infernal cycle of violence and war is possible when women lead the way.

We invite all our readers and friends worldwide to join an existing support group or form one with other local women. 

 Uruguay: the “Mujeres Activans por la Paz”, women activists for peace, representing WWP and WOS in Uruguay, received a recognition/prize granted by the Department of Human Rights of the Presidency of Uruguay, on December 11, 2024.

Canada: Canadian groups are preparing a legacy event for May 2025 dedicated to Vivian Silver, one of WWP’s founding members, murdered on Oct. 7, 2023 in her home on Kibbutz Beeri. Regional groups in Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Toronto are each organizing local gatherings, by zoom and in-person. Two Canadian members recently travelled to Berlin to meet with representatives of the local German support group, exchanging stories and strategies. Ask us about how to receive the Canadian groups’ newsletter.

German-speaking countries: support groups are growing steadily in this region, spreading The Mothers' Call through different channels that include showing up at cultural events, organizing street activities, and broadening media and personal contacts. For instance, 750 people participated in a concert by folksingers/songwriters Yael Deckelbaum and Meera Eilabouni followed by a workshop led by WWP/WOS supporters about how to make our voices heard, as women.

USA: many American women supportive of our approach and the inclusion of women in the peacemaking process were also motivated to take part in organizing around the November election. While the formation of new groups was therefore delayed, by 2025 we expect new supporters in Connecticut, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Arizona, Colorado and Santa Barbara, CA.

Belgium: supporters have been active since early 2024, increasing our visibility and amplifying the message of WWP/WOS locally and within EU institutions. A visit of WWP and WOS to Brussels is planned for Spring 2025.

Starting or joining an international support group.

If you are interested in joining a local group, please refer to our website or contact us directly at internationalrelations@womenwagepeace.org.il.

Women Weaving Lives

Dozens of Israeli Jewish and Arab women, including those from the Bedouin towns of Tuba-Zangariyye in the north of Israel and Lakiya in the south, met together for a new project of ours, Women Weaving Lives. Weaving a new story together, through dialogue and creativity, begins with a cry of pain that can, stitch by stitch, become a sigh of relief that hope can be found among women coming together to share common interests. Inspired by the work of artist Sigalit Landau, pieces produced by the different groups will form a large tent under which we can find solace and rest. Learn more about this new initiative.

Street Activities