Dates: 28 September – 5 October 2010
Location: Jerusalem, Haifa, Nazereth, Ramallah, Hebron and Bil’in
Amplifying Women's Voices for Peace: Delegation to Israel and Palestine 2010
Description
Over 7 days, a peace delegation led by Jody Williams, comprised of 10 women mostly from the US, travelled to Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron, Haifa and Nazareth, meeting with women peacebuilders, Israeli army representatives, members of the Knesset, lawyers, settlers, UN staff and community leaders.
They then attended the Women for Change conference in Ramallah where 300 grassroots Palestinian women activists came together to talk about women’s empowerment, true democracy, and peace. Women from the West Bank were joined, via videoconference, by women from Gaza.
Members of the delegation called for women’s organizations and civil society to be part of the on-going peace negotiations.
On her way to join the delegation, Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire was detained by Israeli authorities at Ben Gurion airport. In 2010 she had participated in the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla as a passenger about the MV Rachel Corrie which was intercepted and illegally boarded by the Israeli military while attempting to deliver humanitarian supplies on June 5th. The other six ships in the Flotilla had been confronted in a raid on 31 May 2010. Violent clashes ensued. Nine Turkish activists were killed, and dozens of activists and IDF soldiers were injured.
In the end Mairead was banned from entering Israel/Palestine for 10 years.
Purpose
The intention of the delegation was to bear witness to and learn from the struggles, creativity, and ingenuity of women activists in the region, in their efforts to promote justice and build sustainable peace. They wanted to connect with Israeli, Palestinian, and other peace activists to collaborate and exchange strategies for change.
Outcome
A film about the 2010 delegation, Partners for Peace, narrated by Marisa Tomei, was released in February 2014.
Laureates
Mairead Maquire (barred entry from the country)
Jody Williams
Partners
Kayan-Feminist Organization
Parents Circle-Families Forum
Naomi Chazen
Isha L’Isha
Zahira Kamal
Mada al-Carmel: Arab Center for Applied Social Research
Robi Damelin
Haneen Zoabi
Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel
Shahar Vardi
Coalition of Women for Peace
Find out more
Media Coverage
Israel refuses entry to NI Nobel Peace Prize Winner (28 September 2010)
Report
Partners for Peace: Women in Israel and Palestine Working for an End to the Conflict and Lasting Reconciliation (26 September 2013)
Film