Dina Ben-Yakir and Huda Abu Arqoub explain why Women Wage Peace could be the solution to an intractable problem<\/p>\n
Say what you want about the intractability of the Arab Israeli-conflict but there\u2019s no shortage of peace groups committed to finding a solution. However well-intentioned, does the world really need another?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re different,\u201d Dina Ben-Yakir, a national organiser for the fledgling Israeli campaign group Women Wage Peace assures me. \u201cWe\u2019re like a start-up, something that\u2019s never been done before. First of all, we are women and, second, we don\u2019t belong to the left, which most of the peace organisations are identified with.\u201d Rather than political ideology, she tells me, they are motivated by a belief that a different reality in the Middle East is feasible and that, across the region, women \u2014 mothers, grandmothers, sisters and daughters \u2014 are crying out for a new approach.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s International Women\u2019s Day when I meet Ben-Yakir, who is with Huda Abu Arqoub, regional director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace and an adviser to Women Wage Peace. They\u2019ve been brought over by Yachad for a whirlwind tour. Despite a non-stop few days, their enthusiasm for explaining why women must be at the heart of the peace process is undiminished.<\/p>\n