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Women's Partnership for Peace in the Middle East - Introduction
On June 12-14, 2003, in Oslo, Norway, the Global Peace Initiative of Women brought together a group of Israeli and Palestinian women leaders from business, government and religion. With the encouragement and support of women religious and spiritual leaders and women from business in the USA, Norway and other countries, they launched The Women's Partnership for Peace in the Middle East at the Nobel Peace Institute on June 12th 2003. The idea for this Partnership was established in Geneva with the intention of fostering a joint process of healing and reconciliation among Israeli and Palestinian peoples, under the leadership of women. Following intensive discussions at this meeting in Oslo, there was consensus that women have a tremendous role to play in taking the necessary political, economical and spiritual steps for people to overcome their anger, fear and frustration. An action plan was created for this process to take place through the launching of national conversations that would acknowledge the suffering on both sides, increase empathy for each other's position and begin building trust.
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Oslo Launch
Objectives
"We can crown our vision for peace with success." — Virginia Woolf
- To foster a process of healing and reconciliation among the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, under the leadership and guidance of women.
- To generate understanding and acceptance of compromise, thereby helping to create the conditions in which peace can take hold.
- To foster joint opportunity and training for Palestinian and Israeli women in economic and educational programs that can help build a foundation of mutual support and goodwill.
- To launch a series of dialogues that will acknowledge the suffering of both sides, increase empathy for each other's position and begin building trust.
The Plan of Action
The Plan of Action for the Women's Partnership for Peace emerged from a think tank of Israeli, Palestinian, American and Norwegian women who gathered in Oslo, Norway June 12-14, 2003 to discuss specific ways in which women could work together to create a more positive framework for peace in the Middle East.
"We need to listen carefully to address the problem and more from conflict to coexistence through compassion"
— Delegate to the Oslo Launch
A Series of Community Conversations on Trust-building
Although many of the Palestinian and Israelis approached the Oslo meeting with some reservations - seeking to avoid the painful discussions of "the occupation", and "terrorism", there was real movement by the end of the dialogue consensus on the necessity for compromise. What began as discussions focused on the past transformed into ones devoted to the future and the prospects it may hold.
The first day was spent referencing the history of the conflict, with defensiveness on both sides. After extensive discussions, it became clear that this absorption in the past, helped to keep the cycle of violence going on the ground, and that no breakthrough for peace would be possible without a shift in the current framework. The discussion moved gradually to statements indicating an understanding that both sides have a legitimate claim to the land. At that point, the conversation and atmosphere began to shift, and most of the participants expressed that point of view that compromises would be needed on both sides to move forward the prospects for peace.
The strength of this group of Israeli and Palestinian was that as women they possessed some of the natural characteristics fundamental for change and from this there was gradual yet clear recognition that bonding and the building of trust was taking place.
Characteristics for Change:
- Ability to acknowledge and express emotions
- Ability to sympathize with each other and come to a place of compromise
- Flexibility and willingness to understand "the other position"
Outcomes - Launch of A Series of Community Conversations
Objectives: The persuasion of their community to risk seeing the "other" no longer as an enemy but as a potential ally in the quest for peace and to advance trust building through a dialogue process that would address the healing of memories.
Timeline:
| September 2003 |
Follow-up meetings in Jerusalem and Ramallah
Co-chairs of the Women's Partnership for Peace in the Middle East established:
Alice Shalvi - Israeli Co-Chair/ Jean Zaru - Palestinian Co-Chair
Formation of Steering Committee |
| December 2003 |
Third Planning Meeting in Israel and Palestine
First series of dialogues took place in Jerusalem, Ramallah, and in the Jewish settlement of Ariel on the West Bank and with women from the Jalezon Refugee Camp near Ramallah. |
| December 2004 |
Peace Summit "Towards Justice and Reconciliation"
Dead Sea, Jordan |
"When you change things inside, you have to change on the outside."
— Delegate to the Oslo Launch
A Formal Process of Reconciliation: Engaging Women and Religion
A bloodbath was avoided in South Africa because of the spiritual leadership provided by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and others. It was the women of faith who helped launch a reconciliation effort in Northern Ireland. It is the spiritual notion of forgiveness that guides an individual, and a people, to overcome suffering and learn to coexist peacefully with former enemies.
The Oslo meeting was conceived, organized and run by an international group of women religious leaders representing the Buddhist, Christian (Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox), Hindu, Islamic and Jewish traditions. The success of that meeting may be due, in part, to the capacity of these leaders to evoke the values of compassion, understanding and respect that form the basis of each of these great traditions. It was also a result of the strong teamwork and commitment to sharing that each of the participating religious leaders displayed at the conference.
One of the Palestinian delegates called on women to assist "religion in becoming a force for unity instead of division". And so it is that this international body of women religious leaders will work in collaboration with Palestinian and Israeli women to help guide the process of healing and reconciliation, working also in conjunction with others in the region who are working toward these goals.
In The Press » Oslo Launch
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Dead Sea Summit - "Towards Justice and Reconciliation", December 15-18, 2005
Overview
In December 2004, the Women's Partnership for Peace in the Middle East will bring together Israeli and Palestinian women from government, business, religion, education, the arts and media for three days of dialogue at the Dead Sea in Jordan. They will be joined by an international delegation of prominent women who seek to aid in fostering this process of people-to-people reconciliation in the region.
An essential element of peacebuilding is the establishment of bonds through dialogue, meeting and other forms of exchange. If people are unable to come together to know each other's suffering, it is very difficult to cultivate understanding and respect for the other's situation. One of the most tragic results of the current Israeli/Palestinian conflict is the increasing difficulty of the two peoples to meet. The construction of the barrier is exacerbating this situation. The lack of dialogue and exchange increases the possibility to vilify the other community, making it more difficult to rally public support for prospective peace plans. This initiative seeks to call attention, regional and international, to the urgent need for new avenues of communication, beginning with women, who can wield great influence at the family and community level.
This peace summit is the culmination of a series of dialogues between Palestinian and Israeli women that begin in June 2003 in Oslo, Norway. The gathering will also consist of a delegation of Israeli and Palestinian youth, who will come together to explore who young people can provide new leadership in forging an environment of respect and mutual support.
The Israeli and Palestinian people must be encouraged to meet and continue the process of exchange that was successfully started before this latest intifada. The current failure to enable dialogue has quickly unraveled the goodwill and trust that was established in the 1990s through people-to-people initiatives.
Objective
- To foster mutual respect by creating an environment in which the voice of the "other" can be heard.
- To assist in building the community will for exchange and thereby overcome the emotional and psychological separation that has grown between Israeli and Palestinian peoples.
- To provide an opportunity for self-reflection and evaluation that enables honest exchange to build trust and respect.
The conference agenda will focus on four themes as critical to the reconciliation process - the media/communications, education, business and religion. Specifically, participants will explore how to enable these fields of activity to contribute to the building of peace. Questions to be addressed:
- How women can contribute to improving the environment on the ground;
- How to begin the process of reconciliation and what this entails - looking at other models and their relevance to the Middle East conflict;
- How to refocus education on humanizing the "other";
- How religion - or spirituality - can promote a more inclusive view that fosters respect and consideration for the other community.
Dead Sea Summit Report » Word Document 
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