Violent and bloody conflicts around the world have been resolved, let\u2019s plant the seeds of hope, to remind us that it can happen here too:<\/p>\n
This time: Northern Ireland<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n For hundreds of years, Ireland\u00a0 was the scene of the fiercest fight between Protestants (the supporters of English royalty) and Catholics. This conflict had its roots in the conquest of the Irish Isle by English settlers in 1169. This is the historical background. In the 1960s Northern Ireland suffered violent struggles and terror attacks that cost the lives of more than 3500 people, mostly civilians. There were \u00a050000 wounded and more than 20000 imprisoned. \u00a0Naturally those years of fighting\u00a0 took an economic, social and educational toll on Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n It seemed that Northern Ireland would live forever on its\u00a0 sword. However, on April 10th<\/sup> 1998 a peace treaty was signed \u201cThe Good Friday Agreement\u201d which included mutual recognition of the suffering on both sides of the violent conflict. It also acknowledged disagreements between the two sides, and a commitment to reach an agreement in a democratic way. Not surprisingly women on both sides of the conflict played a significant role in furthering the agreement. They were part of the process with demonstrations, protests, and declarations.<\/p>\n Although there were still some dissent following the agreement , violence ceased almost completely. The two sides adhered the treaty. To this day there is an on- going dialogue and decisions are reached in a democratic way. Both sides, the royalists Protestants and the Catholics, who in the past refused even to negotiate, are collaborating and work together to heal the wounds of the past.<\/p>\n Today Ireland has a political party \u00a0which consists of Protestant and Catholic women.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It happened in Ireland, it could happen here as well<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Orly Gilat, translated by Orna Raz Violent and bloody conflicts around the world have been resolved, let\u2019s plant the seeds of hope, to remind us that it can happen here too: This time: Northern Ireland For hundreds of years, Ireland\u00a0 was the scene of the fiercest fight between Protestants (the supporters of English royalty) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[67],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n