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Since September 2000 and the beginning of the Second Intifada,
we have watched appalled as the violence has spiralled out of control,
with most of the victims on both sides civilians, many children.
We agree with the Israelis and Palestinians who say that ending
the occupation is a precondition for any realistic peace process.
The settlers' dream of a "greater Israel," in which Palestinians
are either removed or are kept in a state of permanent subjugation,
must end. But we do not think terror is the way to solve any political
problem, whether it is Israeli state terror visited on Palestinian
civilians, vigilante terror by Jewish settlers, or the terrorist
attacks by Palestinian suicide bombers. Violence on all sides must
end before peace can become a believable future.
Both Palestinians and the Israeli peace movement have been calling
for an international peacekeeping force for months, but this idea
has been blocked by the United States, where media bias has shielded
the public from any point of view except that of the Israeli government.
Only the voices of war and despair are heard. While the US media
features every detail of Palestinian suicide bombings, an information
blockade has prevented Americans from learning the horrible facts
of Israeli government actions in the refugee camps, on the West
Bank, and in Gaza.
Our main sources of information about what is really happening
are the Israeli peace movement, Palestinian writers, and international
observers. Popular peace-making efforts on both sides have been
going on for many years, and some have continued throughout the
Second Intifada. We have created this page as a small contribution
to breaking the information blockade, because, as Denise Levertov
said in this poem, only if we imagine peace, talk peace, and enact
peace in whatever small ways we can, will it become real.
A voice from the dark called out,
"The
poets must give us
imagination of peace, to oust the intense, familiar
imagination of disaster. Peace, not only
the absence of war."
But peace,
like a poem,
is not there ahead of itself,
can't be imagined before it is made,
can't be known except in the words of its making
grammar of justice,
syntax of mutual aid.
A
feeling towards it,
dimly sensing a rhythm, is all we have
until we begin to utter its metaphors,
learning them as we speak.
Denise Levertov, "Making Peace," from Breathing
the Water (1987)
Some of the thoughts and testimonies on this page come from Palestinians.
Some come from the Israeli peace movement. Some come from international
observers. While we will concentrate on bringing feminist voices
of peace from the region to a wider audience, we reserve the right
to post any writing that imagines a way to peace "in the words
of its making," that we may all understand the process as it
develops. For we believe that a just peace can develop, will develop,
despite all terror and hopelessness, though we cannot say when.
Questions from Gaza
 voice: |
"Lama Hourani, Palestine" |
published:
December 4, 2006
Elif Shafek cleared of "insulting Turkishness"
| voice: |
"Meredith Tax, USA" |
published:
September 23, 2006
UNIFEM Initiative for Middle East Peace
| voice: |
"UNIFEM, International" |
published:
September 20, 2006
“As soon as I get a permit I will come back to you”
| voice: |
"Lama Hourani, Palestine" |
published:
September 10, 2006
Their View of the World is Through a Bombsight
| voice: |
"Noam Chomsky, USA" |
published:
September 1, 2006
America's Rottweiler
| voice: |
"Uri Avnery, Israel" |
published:
August 26, 2006
How Washington Goaded Israel
| voice: |
"Stephen Zunes, USA" |
published:
August 26, 2006
Needed: A New Mind-Set
| voice: |
"Naomi Chazan, Israel " |
published:
August 24, 2006
Two More Leaves from Lama’s Diary
| voice: |
"Lama Hourani, Palestine" |
published:
August 16, 2006
Women Lead the Israeli Peace Movement—in Russian and Arabic
| voice: |
"Lily Galili, Israel" |
published:
August 10, 2006
Junkies of War
| voice: |
"Uri Avnery, Israel" |
published:
August 5, 2006
From Lama in Gaza Again
| voice: |
"Lama Hourani, Palestine" |
published:
August 1, 2006
A Collective Failure In the Middle East
| voice: |
"Shirin Ebadi, Iran, and Jody Williams, USA" |
published:
July 31, 2006
The US, Israel, and Lebanon
| voice: |
"Marjorie Cohn, USA" |
published:
July 26, 2006
Meanwhile...from Lama in Gaza
| voice: |
"Lama Hourani, Palestine" |
published:
July 25, 2006
Quick Report from the Israeli Peace Front
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
July 23, 2006
Is Beirut Burning?
| voice: |
"Uri Avnery, Israel" |
published:
July 22, 2006
US Peace Coalition Calls for End to Attacks on Civilians in Lebanon, Gaza, and Israel
| voice: |
"United for Peace and Justice, USA" |
published:
July 18, 2006
Lama's Diary
| voice: |
"Lama Hourani, Palestine" |
published:
July 15, 2006
Israel on the Offensive
| voice: |
"Marwan Bishara, Palestine/Paris" |
published:
July 12, 2006
The Palestinian Catastrophe, Then and Now
| voice: |
"Sandy Tolan, Palestine" |
published:
July 10, 2006
Statements by the United Nations Agencies working in the occupied Palestinian territory
| voice: |
"Christopher Gunness, Gaza" |
published:
July 8, 2006
Agatha in the Rain
| voice: |
"Uri Avnery, Israel" |
published:
July 1, 2006
The Fight To Not Fight
| voice: |
"Rachel Shabi, UK" |
published:
April 17, 2006
Too Hot for New York
| voice: |
"Philip Weiss, USA" |
published:
March 16, 2006
Hamas and Us
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel
" |
published:
February 1, 2006
Women Resist War and Occupation
| voice: |
"Women in Black, international " |
published:
August 17, 2005
Palestinian and Israeli Women Create Global Panel to Work for Just Middle East Peace
| voice: |
"UN News Service, USA" |
published:
July 28, 2005
These are some of the things I wish everyone knew
| voice: |
"Kate Raphael, USA " |
published:
June 26, 2005
The Day After
| voice: |
"Uri Avnery, Israel" |
published:
June 25, 2005
A Tale of Two Demonstrations
| voice: |
"Uri Avnery, Israel" |
published:
April 30, 2005
Speech on International Women`s Day, in a debate about violence against women
| voice: |
"Nurit Peled-Elhanan, Israel" |
published:
March 3, 2005
There Is a Partner
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
January 2, 2005
License to Kill
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
November 24, 2004
A summer with potential for non-violence
| voice: |
"Gary Fields, USA" |
published:
July 25, 2004
Thank You, Your Honors
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel
" |
published:
July 10, 2004
Help Protest the Wall
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
June 17, 2004
Working to Break the Silence
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
June 6, 2004
Anarchy in our souls
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
April 25, 2004
Report: International Human Rights March
| voice: |
"Coalition of Women for Peace, Israel" |
published:
January 18, 2004
Doing things the hard way—the verdict of The Five
| voice: |
"Gush Shalom, Israel" |
published:
December 16, 2003
Afraid
| voice: |
"Grace Paley, USA" |
published:
December 4, 2003
Israel's F-16 and Black Hawk refuseniks say why they could not obey illegalorders and kill innocent Palestinians
| voice: |
"Chris McGreal, UK " |
published:
December 3, 2003
Who Caused the Palestinian Diaspora: Origins of the Middle East Crisis
| voice: |
"George Bisharat, USA/Palestine" |
published:
December 2, 2003
From Geneva with Hope
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
December 1, 2003
The waiting game
| voice: |
"Ahdaf Soueif, Egypt" |
published:
November 23, 2003
Anti-Semitism
| voice: |
"Uri Avnery, Israel" |
published:
November 22, 2003
"This is Sharonistan": A Report on Two Anti-Wall Events
| voice: |
"Gush Shalom, Israel " |
published:
November 9, 2003
From the Mideast Moderates, A Bold Plan for Peace
| voice: |
"Amram Mitzna, Israel" |
published:
November 1, 2003
Israel: The Alternative
| voice: |
"Tony Judt, USA" |
published:
October 23, 2003
Air Force Pilots’ Letter
| voice: |
"Brigadier General Yiftah Spector, et al, Israel " |
published:
September 24, 2003
Hillel Café
| voice: |
"Yitzhak Frankenthal, Israel" |
published:
September 11, 2003
Off with their heads!
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
September 6, 2003
A Failed Israeli Society Collapses While Its Leaders Remain Silent
| voice: |
"Avraham Burg, Israel" |
published:
August 29, 2003
A Midsummer Night's Update
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
July 26, 2003
Women in Struggle: Between the National and the Feminist
| voice: |
"BAT SHALOM, Israel" |
published:
July 6, 2003
Report on the Founding Conference of the Israeli-Palestinian Action Group for Peace
| voice: |
"Gush Shalom, Israel" |
published:
June 28, 2003
A good week for the extremists
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
June 13, 2003
My Safe Child
| voice: |
"Daphna Baram, Israel" |
published:
June 11, 2003
In Loneliness and Tears
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
May 30, 2003
My Draft Resistance
| voice: |
"Noa Kaufman, Israel" |
published:
April 28, 2003
A Busy Couple of Days
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
April 3, 2003
Let's Start with Risk
| voice: |
"Susan Sontag, USA" |
published:
March 30, 2003
Support Israeli Conscientious Objectors on Trial
| voice: |
"Rela Mazali, Israel" |
published:
March 19, 2003
Poem to Rachel Corrie
| voice: |
"Hilda Silverman, USA
" |
published:
March 18, 2003
In Memorium, Rachel Corrie
| voice: |
"Voices for peace, USA and Israel" |
published:
March 16, 2003
A Letter to Jules and Helen
| voice: |
"Reema Abu Hamdieh, Palestine" |
published:
March 12, 2003
The great wall of denial
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
February 28, 2003
This morning’s news
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
January 31, 2003
You can drive along and never see an Arab
| voice: |
"Amira Hass, Israel
" |
published:
January 22, 2003
Partners for War
| voice: |
"Henry Siegman, USA
" |
published:
January 16, 2003
Letter from a Woman Draft Resister
| voice: |
"Shani Werner, Israel" |
published:
December 31, 2002
Things are so terrible here
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
December 27, 2002
Israel's Choice
| voice: |
"Neve Gordon, Israel" |
published:
December 9, 2002
Another index. No deaths
| voice: |
"Jewish Peace News, USA" |
published:
December 4, 2002
A Letter of Response to the General
| voice: |
"Yigal Bronner, Israel" |
published:
November 30, 2002
The Sharon Plan Is in Place
| voice: |
"Marcia Freedman, Israel" |
published:
November 29, 2002
We have betrayed our children
| voice: |
"Nurit Peled-Elnahan, Israel " |
published:
November 28, 2002
The death of the two-state solution
| voice: |
"Terje Roed-Larsen, USA
" |
published:
October 17, 2002
In favor of Gandhi's legacy
| voice: |
"Akiva Eldar, Israel" |
published:
October 14, 2002
Locked in War's Embrace
| voice: |
"Amy Wilentz, USA" |
published:
October 13, 2002
Urban Legends
| voice: |
"Rachael Kamel, USA" |
published:
October 11, 2002
Important work for peace
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
October 4, 2002
Let Hamas and Jihad Leaders Send Their Own Sons
| voice: |
"Abu Saber M. G., Palestine
" |
published:
October 1, 2002
Manufacturing Anti-Semites
| voice: |
"Uri Avnery, Israel" |
published:
September 28, 2002
Those who give us hope
| voice: |
"Mustafa Barghouti, Palestine" |
published:
September 27, 2002
The homeland purified of Arabs
| voice: |
"Meron Benvenisti, Israel" |
published:
September 26, 2002
Sharon's Real Purpose Is to Create Foreigners
| voice: |
"Henry Siegman, USA" |
published:
September 25, 2002
Prosecute Sharon for war crimes, Israeli women say
| voice: |
"Robert Fisk, United Kingdom" |
published:
September 24, 2002
Force the Palestinians to Surrender and End the War
| voice: |
"Gershon Baskin, Israel" |
published:
September 22, 2002
Declaration
| voice: |
"European Jews for a Just Peace, BE, DK, et al " |
published:
September 19, 2002
Dear friends of refusers
| voice: |
"Steven Feuerstein, USA" |
published:
September 17, 2002
Silence That Kills
| voice: |
"Hirsh Goodman, Israel" |
published:
September 9, 2002
Update on the Jerusalem vigil of Women in Black
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
September 8, 2002
Dissent is not disloyalty
| voice: |
"Roman Bronfman, Israel" |
published:
September 5, 2002
The Nusseibeh-Ayalon Agreement: Final Draft
| voice: |
"Ami Ayalon, Israel, and Sari Nusseibeh, Palestine" |
published:
September 3, 2002
Legitimacy Demands Leadership
| voice: |
"Nabil Amro, Palestine" |
published:
September 2, 2002
Nothing Happened
| voice: |
"Gideon Levy, Israel" |
published:
August 16, 2002
Making life difficult for the Palestinian peace camp
| voice: |
"Amira Hass, Israel" |
published:
August 14, 2002
A Phone Call from Hell
| voice: |
"Uri Avnery, Israel" |
published:
August 11, 2002
Whose Goals Does Violence Serve?
| voice: |
"Mitchell Plitnick, USA" |
published:
August 10, 2002
A statement by Gush Shalom
| voice: |
"Gush Shalom, Israel " |
published:
August 9, 2002
Punishment by detail
| voice: |
"Edward Said, USA " |
published:
August 8, 2002
On the one hand . . .
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
August 6, 2002
Compassionate Listening Journal
| voice: |
"Dr. Eyad Sarraj, Palestine" |
published:
August 3, 2002
Talking Points to Obfuscation
| voice: |
"Leonard Fein, USA" |
published:
August 2, 2002
"What Do You Want the Palestinians to Do?"
| voice: |
"Azmi Bishara, Israel " |
published:
July 24, 2002
The Third Option
| voice: |
"Mitchell Plitnick, USA" |
published:
July 19, 2002
Fascisme doux
| voice: |
"Anna Somers Cocks, United Kingdom" |
published:
July 16, 2002
Against Israeli Apartheid
| voice: |
"Desmond Tutu & Ian Urbina, South Africa & USA" |
published:
July 15, 2002
The IDF Shuts Away the Sea at Rafah
| voice: |
"Amira Hass, Israel" |
published:
July 14, 2002
A strange kind of freedom
| voice: |
"Robert Fisk, United Kingdom
" |
published:
July 9, 2002
A New Beginning
| voice: |
"Gush Shalom, Israel
" |
published:
July 5, 2002
Spreading the Secret
| voice: |
"Gila Svirsky, Israel" |
published:
July 4, 2002
The Penal Colonies
| voice: |
"Tanya Reinhart, Israel" |
published:
July 3, 2002
Letter to President Bush from 40 Evangelical Christian Leaders concerned with Peace and Justice in the Holy Land
| voice: |
"Raymond J. Bakke, Craig Barnes, et al, USA
" |
published:
July 2, 2002
Jewish-Palestinian Declaration for a Just and Lasting Peace
| voice: |
"The Jewish Peace Forum and The Palestinian American Women’s
Society, USA
" |
published:
June 26, 2002
A Speech to End All Peace: Round Up of Comments on the Bush Middle East Plan
| voice: |
"Israel, USA" |
published:
June 25, 2002
"The best lack all conviction . . ."
| voice: |
"Laurie King-Irani, Canada" |
published:
June 23, 2002
Urgent Appeal to Stop Suicide Bombings
| voice: |
"Faculty for Israeli Palestinian Peace, Palestine" |
published:
June 19, 2002
Letter from Israel
| voice: |
"Darlene Wallach, USA" |
published:
June 14, 2002
Palestinian elections now
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