Dear ,

On August 11th, celebrated American singer Madonna mentioned Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun in a post on her X account on the occasion of her son Rocco’s birthday. She called on the Pope for help and asked people to donate to both of our movements as well as to World Central Kitchen, writing “Today is my son Rocco’s birthday. I feel the best gift I can give to him as a Mother is to ask everyone to do what they can to help save the innocent children caught in the crossfire in Gaza. I am not pointing fingers, placing blame or taking sides. Everyone is suffering.”

We are honored that Madonna reiterated what we have been saying broadly for the past decade and more specifically since Oct. 7th: as mothers, as women, we don’t want war, we don’t want starvation, and we don’t want hostages. Our message speaks many languages and is found in all cultures. We believe it is one worth working, even struggling, for.  

A new and unique WWP training program for Arab women from all over Israel, designed to advance female leadership in bringing about peace, equality, and security, is about to launch. Participants will learn about promoting these values in the Arab community as well as within WWP and in Israel's public sphere. Somaya Bashir, WWP Program Coordinator for Arab Society, describes it as a small dream she carried in her heart for a long time that has now become a reality. Although this is a period when feelings of insecurity, division, and despair are intensifying, Somaya says, “We are here as women, as mothers, and as fighters for a more just and humane society. Our responsibility is not only to ourselves – it is to our children, to the generations that will come after us. I believe that the leadership of Arab women can drive real change, build bridges instead of walls, and offer hope in the face of all the darkness.”

The participants, chosen from a wide range of geographical areas, religion occupations, and ages, will be offered a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical tools in the fields of leadership, peace, and social justice. A group process will enable participants to undergo a communal journey as well as a personal one. Somaya expects each trainee will become more confident in using her own voice, while developing personally and professionally as a leader and taking action in the field out of a sense of mission and strong identity. “But beyond these practical outcomes,” she says, “I believe that this training will sit in the heart as inner empowerment, as the strength to move forward even when reality closes in on us.”

Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun engaged in an exciting joint South American speaking tour during early August. Long-time WWP peace activists Hyam Tannous and Angela Scharf represented WWP together with WOS’s director, Reem Alhajajra, in Argentina and Uruguay. They met with the Mayor of Buenos Aires, the President of Uruguay, Members of the Argentinian and Uruguayan Parliaments, university students, several civil society organizations in both countries, and gave a lecture at the Anna Frank Centre in Argentina. The delegation also had the honor of visiting the northern province of Argentina, Santiago del Estero, where they were greeted by a choir of one hundred children singing songs of peace. Their trip culminated in a peak event at the Sokka Gakkai Cultural Center with more than 800 participants, among them, students from Buenos Aires. Watch the event, in Spanish, here. Hyam and Angela also spoke to dozens of media outlets, including Radio Con Vos, an interview with CNN South America, as well as a talk show on Argentina TV Channel. Watch a part of their CNN interview here.

The tour was a huge success thanks to the fruitful cooperation between Hector Shalom, director of the Anna Frank Centre, and members of the South American chapter of Women Wage Peace, especially Adriana Potel, leader of the South America Chapter of WWP. Leti Dubcovsky, a WWP member in Uruguay, noted that “Reem, Angela, and Hyam taught us about peace, about the role of women in political negotiations, about the importance of dialogue, but above all they taught us about dignity and being able to inhabit all our contradictions without renouncing any part of our identity. They also taught us to build bridges even when the wind is blowing against us, to look directly at our own pain and that of the other, and to refuse to accept violence as the inevitable fate for all of us.” Read more here

Women Write Hope - An important new book for your shelf 

We are delighted to share with all of you news of an exciting new global project we are undertaking, together with our sister movement – Palestinian Women of the Sun. But first, some background.

Last year we received the DVF Award, along with Women of the Sun, presented to extraordinary women dedicated to improving the lives of other women. During the events and ceremonies, we met representatives of the Vital Voices Global Partnership, who support women leaders dealing with some of the world's greatest challenges. They decided then and there to invest in both our movements, and to shine an international spotlight on the Mothers' Call. After studying different options of action, we came to a mutual decision to proceed with a global campaign which will rally the women of the world to our Mothers' Call.

Last month, a delegation of WWP and WOS representatives met in Venice for two intense days of Global Dialogue, along with 30 of our peers, all outspoken, wise, impressive feminist activists from around the globe. This dialogue is ongoing and has yet to bear fruit, as there are some more hurdles to overcome. But we are confident it will enable us to proceed and bring together women's voices from around the world, calling together for Peace. We look forward to sharing more updates soon, as this global campaign continues to evolve.

During our stay in Venice we were invited to take part in this year's DVF Awards ceremony, during which we were greatly honored by Diane von Furstenberg herself, who mentioned our work and actually shined a light on our representatives – Yael Admi and Reem Hajajra. As you might notice in the link – our work was greatly appreciated.

Bringing Another Voice to Australia

The Victorian Synod of the Uniting Church of Australia, the third largest denomination in Australia, invited Women Wage Peace to send a Jewish representative for a two-week inter-religious speaking tour. The wonderful Peta Jones Pellach was chosen to represent our movement. She joined Riman Barakat, director of Feelbeit, a Palestinian-Israeli organization uniting Israelis and Palestinians in a shared space of music and art. This Jewish-Muslim duo brought a message of peace and reconciliation to an Australia that is currently deeply divided around the issue of the Israel-Gaza war, creating a wedge in local communities between Jews and Muslims. Peta and Riman explained that our organizations recognize that Jewish and Palestinian futures are intertwined; not only do we speak to each other for pragmatic reasons but we also strive to forge meaningful relationships based on mutual respect.

Riman and Peta spoke at the Synod, the major gathering of Uniting Church leaders and ministers, at a Sunday service in Melbourne and to a church community in Canberra, in each case knowing that many in the audience have been involved in demonstrations not just against the Israeli government but against all Israelis. Afterwards, members of the church community attested that their eyes had been opened to a different possibility, one that considers aspirations of both Palestinians and Israelis to live together in peace and security. They also attended meetings at the Parliament House and met with government ministers and spoke at public events such as the universities in Melbourne and Sydney, Mt. Scopus and Moriah Colleges, town halls, various churches, and on several radio shows. Peta writes, “What became clear was that supporters of Israel and of Palestine have no common language, even while speaking English, and that language in general has been weaponized. We contrasted that attitude with our Mothers' Call, crafted with care to make sure that we use language that is acceptable to all and is respectful, unambiguous, and consistent.” Peta also had the opportunity to speak at several synagogues during Shabbat services, with the message that peace is a Torah value and that truly supporting Israel is to support the Israeli people in their quest for peace.

Singing for Peace on Int’l Peace Day

31 Live Peace Concerts on the International Day of Peace

the Alliance for Middle East Peace, on whose board of directors she now serves. Marilyn is convinced that music not only brings people together, but directly supports peace-building. While contacting various peace organizations and Nobel Peace Prize winners, she learned that a Frenchman, Emmanuel Piegay, had had the same idea. Together they now manage Live Peace with a group of volunteers, organizing peace concerts around the world on the International Day of Peace held every September 21st after its establishment in 1981 by a unanimous United Nations resolution. Live Peace seeks to promote a powerful shared message: we want peace and an end to all wars. Its management team is made up of a diverse and balanced group whose backgrounds include event management, financing, and NGO administration. Live Peace also collaborates with Nobel Peace Prize laureates and other peace organizations. This year there will be over thirty concerts around the globe -- just the beginning! Find out HERE where concerts are taking place. Indeed two of these events will mark the closing of a circle: Yael Deckelbaum, together with the Arab Israeli singer Meera Eilabuni, will be performing.