![\"\u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05dc\u05e0\u05d3](\"http:\/\/46.16.186.67\/~womenwagepeaceor\/wp-content\/uploads\/d790d799d7a8d79cd7a0d793-d79bd7a0d7a1-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOn November 30, the Minerva Center for Human Rights at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Mount Scopus hosted a lecture by Prof. Monica McWilliams, who was active in politics and in women\u2019s groups as part of the peace process in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics.<\/p>\n
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Women played key roles from beginning to end in the process of resolving a conflict that had raged for centuries.<\/p>\n
Here are the main points of her lecture: On November 30, the Minerva Center for Human Rights at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Mount Scopus hosted a lecture by Prof. Monica McWilliams, who was active in politics and in women\u2019s groups as part of the peace process in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics. Women played key roles from beginning to end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,11,29],"tags":[289,209,149],"yoast_head":"\n
\nIntroduction:
\n\u2022 In conflicts as well as large and small issues, the question must be asked: What can civil society contribute?
\n\u2022 In the Irish conflict, people constantly asked, \u201cWhen did this begin?\u201d The answers varied according to who was asked. There were even those who dated the beginning of the conflict as far back as the third century BCE.
\n\u2022 Northern Ireland is a tiny country that makes so much \u201cnoise\u201d that it gets constant international attention.
\n\u2022 Both sides are heavily armed, and soldiers were always on the streets, along with many military vehicles.
\n\u2022 Walls and fences separated the two sides.
\n\u2022 People left for work or school without knowing where the next bomb would explode.
\n\u2022 There was constant concern over the safety of children on their way to school and adults going to work.
\n\u2022 The warring parties were side by side but not set among each other.
\nThe process:
\n\u2022 During the peace process, the walls and fences grew.
\n\u2022 More and more separation barriers were set up.
\n\u2022 There was a realization that perfect peace was unattainable, and romantic notions of peace were discarded.
\n\u2022 The process was lengthy and required patience, commitment and pragmatism.
\n\u2022 There was a ceasefire\u2014there can be no peace talks without a ceasefire. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to make peace when there is war all around,\u201d said Nelson Mandela.
\n\u2022 It was not easy to achieve a ceasefire.
\n\u2022 Immediately with the establishment of a ceasefire, the sides started the process.
\n\u2022 The parties visited South Africa to study the process there, meet with the parties, talk to them and listen to them and to the local residents.
\n\u2022 Women\u2014it was clear that women, who demonstrated for a ceasefire and an end to the killing, must play a part in the process.
\n\u2022 Feminists, pro-family activists, human rights activists and women\u2019s rights activists took part from the beginning, and it was clear that human rights in all aspects were not excluded from the peace discussions.
\n\u2022 There was a sort of \u201cwomen\u2019s army\u201d that accompanied the process in the streets with demonstrations, assemblies and proclamations.
\n\u2022 Women from both sides built strong coalitions and pushed for completion of an agreement.
\n\u2022 The consensus among the women was that the main problem was religious discrimination.
\n\u2022 It was clear to them that war and tension repress creativity in all spheres, while peace enables creativity.
\n\u2022 During the negotiations\u2014always be aware of what the other side wants.
\n\u2022 During the long negotiations, it was necessary to translate from English to English. Even when both sides speak the same language, it is important to translate concepts and intentions and be exacting about what is said.
\n\u2022 There was a need to stop using certain words, and alternative terminology was developed for terms whose meaning was eroded. For example, neither side liked the word \u201ccompromise,\u201d and its use harmed the discussions.
\n\u2022 At all times it was necessary to think and speak in terms of what each side would gain, and not what each side would concede.
\n\u2022 Violence did not cease with the signing of the accord or in the period after it. It took time, and even today there are tensions from time to time, especially among groups of youths.
\n\u2022 It was emphasized that each side won and each side lost, not that one side emerged victorious.
\n\u2022 British Prime Minister Tony Blair was actively involved in the process and moved it forward.
\n\u2022 International figures were involved in the process and contributed to it, including Nelson Mandela, Hillary Clinton and others.
\n\u2022 The process received international backing.
\n\u2022 With the release of \u201cterrorists,\u201d there was an outcry and a demand to deal with their victims instead. The accord included a program for rehabilitation of the victims of violence on both sides
\nMonica McWilliams<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05dc\u05e0\u05d3](\"http:\/\/46.16.186.67\/~womenwagepeaceor\/wp-content\/uploads\/d790d799d7a8d79cd7a0d793-d79bd7a0d7a1-5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\u05db\u05e0\u05e1](\"http:\/\/46.16.186.67\/~womenwagepeaceor\/wp-content\/uploads\/d79bd7a0d7a1-d790d799d7a8d79cd7a0d793-4.jpg\")
![\"\u05db\u05e0\u05e1](\"http:\/\/46.16.186.67\/~womenwagepeaceor\/wp-content\/uploads\/d79bd7a0d7a1-d790d799d7a8d79cd7a0d793-d79ed7a1d7a7d7a0d795d7aa.jpg\")
![\"\u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05dc\u05e0\u05d3](\"http:\/\/46.16.186.67\/~womenwagepeaceor\/wp-content\/uploads\/d790d799d7a8d79cd7a0d793-d79bd7a0d7a1-4.jpg\")
![\"\u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05dc\u05e0\u05d3](\"http:\/\/46.16.186.67\/~womenwagepeaceor\/wp-content\/uploads\/d790d799d7a8d79cd7a0d793-d79bd7a0d7a1-3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05dc\u05e0\u05d3](\"http:\/\/46.16.186.67\/~womenwagepeaceor\/wp-content\/uploads\/d790d799d7a8d79cd7a0d793-d79bd7a0d7a1-d79ed7a1d7a7d7a0d795d7aa2.jpg\")
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