Two events took place in Geneva, on the 22nd and the 23rd of March, 2017 in honour of Women Wage Peace movement.
The first was a panel at the Graduate Institute Geneva, an exclusive research foundation which examines peace and security processes. The panel was chaired by the head of the Inclusive Peace & Transition Initiative, Dr. Thania Paffenholz. Huda Abu-Arbuk and Yael Treidel took part in the panel.
In her speech Dr Paffenholtz said that, initially, they doubted whether any good would come out of having this panel concerning the Israeli–Palestinian conflict as the situation seems too difficult to have any positive outcome. People, too, seem to have lost interest in it. However, when they met us they have been deeply impressed and… changed their mind.
The event was attended by 100 women and men whose reactions were extremely positive. Many of them told us, at the end of the event, that for the first time, they feel some hope that a change in the region is possible and that they will continue to follow us. We are grateful to the Swiss organisations: J Call and Beit of Hope which sponsored the event, especially to Masia Kenman who has organised it.
The second event was a fund-raising Gala for three organisations dedicated to finding a solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict:
1. Al Tariq – a Palestinian organisation founded by Ali Abu Awwad
2. Roots/Judur – an Israeli–Palestinian organisation, which organises meetings between settlers and Palestinians. Shaul Judelman, one of the founders, represented the organisation that evening
3. Women Wage Peace were represented by Yael Treidel. Another speaker was Huda Abu-Arbuk, the region director of ALLMEP (Alliance for Middle East Peace) to which the above organisations belong.
The event was organised by Beit of Hope – a joint group of 3 Jews, 3 Arabs, an Iranian and an Indian residents of Geneva, who founded it about a year ago in order to support regional civic initiatives. The group members have worked hard to organise the event which, all agreed, was a great success. The dedication and generosity of the members of Beit of Hope was wholehearted and warm.
Beside the speeches by Shaul, Huda and Yael, a public auction and music performances by Yael Deckelbaum, Miriam Toukan, Liron Meyuhas and Adam Ben Ezra had also taken place. Many guests expressed their thanks and said we have inspired their hope that a change could come out and they wish to support us in any way they could. The overall feeling was that the visit to Geneva was successful both in terms of fund raising, and especially for the exposure we have had to many good people, some of them highly influential. We already know of other initiatives being built following our visit. It seems we will soon be back in Geneva…
Translated from Hebrew by Sarit Bloom
