My name is Nitzan Senior (my last name incorporates that of my deceased grandfather, Shneur, of blessed memory). I am 32 years old and currently live with my parents, my sister and my brothers in Zoran [north of Tel Aviv, near Netanya]. I am the eldest sister of Einav, 31; Lanir, 24; Ron, 23; and also Bambi, a mixed-breed Pinscher, and many cats (the last time I counted there were seven).
I always liked to be involved in what was happening around me. In elementary school I was part of the decoration and social committees; in high school I joined the student council and served as its chair for two years. And I’ve always liked to write. I used to read and write and read and write; today I mostly write. I seem to read less because my attention span has shortened; that doesn’t stop me, however, from buying new books.
I joined Women Wage Peace when my brother Nir was fighting in Gaza during Tzuk Eitan/Operation Protective Edge/the 2014 Gaza War. He came out of it unharmed unlike other fighters in his unit, some of whom were killed and some wounded. During that difficult summer I began to feel extremely anxious and suffered constantly from the fear that something bad would happen to me. Despite the mental difficulties involved, I took part in a number of dialogue groups with Palestinian women in an attempt to soften the pain little. I also participated because of my conviction that there is no such thing as kakha zeh, that’s just the way things are [a Hebrew expression for feeling resigned to life as it is] and that the security and political situation we’re currently in cannot remain in its current form forever. I will not accept it.
Around the same time, I founded the Young (Women) Politicians Project which encourages young women to enter the political arena on both the national and local level. I hope that the involvement of more women in making critical decisions about our lives will lead to progress in politics and that we will be able to achieve real peace. And no, it’s not a question of whether one is politically Right or Left – a division that I disagree with, but I’ll save that discussion for another post. Rather it’s a question of pursuing peace. And who doesn’t want peace? Do men want peace or do they believe in it as a religious ideal? What about women? What matters is the idea that yes, peace is possible!
We recently received a prize in the Knesset for the Young Politicians Project and I am very grateful to all the women who took part in its operation from the very first moment. Their advice, guidance, great connections and support are helping us to integrate young women into politics. Indeed, quite a few amazing members of WWP assisted me in designing the project, including Michal Barak, Shiri Levinas, Nurit Hajaj, Roni Felzen and many other wonderful women. They have all lent us their shoulders to lean on and made the Young (Women) Politicians Project what it is today – a leading venture with more than 100 graduates who know that the political field belongs to us, too. That this life is ours, too. And that it is our responsibility to bring about change; we do not have the luxury of sitting back and doing nothing. In conclusion, I invite you to visit the Facebook page of Young (Women) Politicians. [in Hebrew]
Last but not least, last month I was one of the six WWP members who took part in a training program in Belfast led by the Reverend Gary Mason, founder of the Rethinking the Conflict Institute. Its purpose was to learn about the long and violent conflict in Northern Ireland and the peace process that eventually brought it to an end with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement twenty years ago this year. This coming autumn, our delegation will share with us in detail what they learned… read more.
translated from Hebrew by Donna Kurshbaum
