Dear ,

The holiday season is upon us once again; it is an opportunity to decorate everything with lights, to fill our tables with exciting colors, to change the atmosphere. Instead of considering this time of year as a break from reality, we look at it as a chance to remember that there is hope, and that it is all around us. All we need to do is flip the coin. Happy Holidays!

We mourn with the families of the victims of the Bondi terrorist attack.

A touching ceremony, amplified by a depiction of the three women shown in their full glory, by Zeev Engelmayer, the famed illustrator and cartoonist known for his postcards made in the aftermath of the 2023 attacks, honoring the hostages, and insisting on hope. Along the path, inspirational quotes from WWP activists were planted. As we walked along them, we admired how each woman’s own journey of peace-making led her to that time and place and we resolved to guard this knowledge in our hearts to give us the strength to continue. We also stopped to cry out one more time for the return of the bodies of deceased hostages.

The program continued with stories of residents from the Gaza border recalling acts of bravery in their communities and reiterating their firm decision to continue making peace despite fierce new challenges and bitter old realities. Concluding speeches were given, among whom were our latest additions — the cohort of Arab Israeli women who have just finished their peace leadership training and are eager to join our journey to peace. Watch the video about this inspiring day:

Women Wage Peace recently completed a collaborative strategic planning process between our volunteer activists, movement partners, and strategy experts. Grounded in shared learning, reflection, and collective decision-making, and keenly aware of the realities the country faces after two years of war and social upheaval and towards pivotal elections, WWP priorities for 2026 include strengthening public support for a political agreement especially among carefully targeted groups, amplifying influential pro-peace voices in Israeli society, and strengthening joint Israeli-Palestinian women’s leadership.

Women Wage Peace activists Naama Barak Wolfman and Kefaya Masarwa represented WWP in a high-profile visit to Brussels in the end of November, Belgium along with Women of the Sun Director Reem Alhajajra, with the support of WWP’s Foreign Relations team members Angela Scharf in Belgium, as well as Regula Alon in Israel. The delegation participated in a series of meetings in the European Parliament and met with Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management and Helene le Gal, Managing Director, European Union European External Action Service for MENA (Middle East and North Africa) who signed our Mothers’ Call.

The trip culminated with a warm welcome from King Philippe of Belgium and Queen Mathilde, a meeting which could not have been possible were it not for our Belgian Support Group’s connections to the Queen, together with the help of the Belgian Ambassador in Israel. Within the Palace walls, our two movements’ representatives were able to share the work of WWP/WOS and our joint Mothers’ Call. They also appeared at the Belgian Senate and presented the Mothers’ Call to Belgian women politicians, for which see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sywacCFO7uU .

Last but not least, they were also interviewed by several media outlets including the popular newspaper La Vie Belge. The visit left a strong impression not just on WWP and WOS representatives but also on those whom they met on their journey, showing what can be done with dedication to peace, and the hard work of the WWP/WOS Belgium-Netherlands Support Group and the support of Angela Scharf, WWP Head of International Relations. 

Another fruitful trip was undertaken in November on behalf of WWP by Amal Abu Ramadan and Nirit Sternberg who attended a conference at Bonn University in Germany dedicated to Reconciliation and Conflict Solution. Both women shared how shocked fellow conference attendees were to discover that a relationship between Arabs and Jews such as ours is still possible in these challenging times. They also met with the Bahraini Ambassador to Germany, Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Qurainees, as well as researchers from several Gulf countries who were excited by the prospect of expanding cooperation among women of our region.

The Mothers' Call is on Instagram!

The success of overseas trips taken by our women are to a large extent the result of painstaking groundwork laid in Israel, especially through building relationships with diplomats, heads of missions and making the connection abroad through the support groups. Not only do we gain international support for our approach to peace-making in this way but we also make connections that allow us to bring our message abroad. Recently members of the team met with the Finnish Ambassador who is a great supporter of WWP, and with the Ambassador of Latvia, a country newly elected to be part of the UN Security Council beginning in January 2026, as well as celebrated with the Ambassador of Norway in a joint Hannukah and Christmas Party.

Rallying for Peace

As part of our commitment and work towards a better future, we participated in the annual commemoration of the assassination of beloved Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in the beginning of November. And wef eatured a video about the work of Women Wage Peace was on the main screen of the Rally which brought us all to tears. Watch the video here:

Even with the repatriation of all living hostages, we are still demonstrating until the last body is returned. And we will continue to be present on the streets as long as it is necessary.