First anniversary of Oct. 7 emphasizes need for peace

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This article was published 05/10/2024 (701 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Almost a year has passed since the devastating Hamas attack on southern Israel and the subsequent start of the Israel war against Hamas in Gaza. It is almost a year too since it was discovered that former Winnipegger and renown peace activist Vivian Silver, initially thought to have been kidnapped by Hamas, was slain in her kibbutz home in the Oct. 7 onslaught.

In the months since that discovery, many of Silver’s family, friends and supporters of Women Wage Peace — the Israeli peace group that she cofounded — have reaffirmed their commitment to pursuing peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as an end to the current war in Gaza and the return of all hostages kidnapped from Israel.

Specifically, Women Wage Peace (WWP) is a grassroots movement advocating for a non-violent, diplomatic resolution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, a conflict that has torn asunder countless lives and caused decades of grief and suffering for both peoples. WWP also calls for the full participation of women in the negotiation of that resolution and in all future peace and security matters.

In 2022 WWP partnered with the Palestinian group Women of the Sun (WOS), and together, following intense negotiation, developed The Mothers’ Call, a declaration of their shared intent to pursue a peaceful resolution to the struggle so that children on both sides of the divide can look forward to a future without war or terror. That declaration has been shared, signed and adopted by peace activists, politicians and dignitaries around the globe, including by Pope Francis.

Last year, three days prior to the horrors of Oct. 7, members of WWP and WSO were joined by 1,500 women from all faiths and backgrounds at a rally to promote the Mothers’ Call and to demand an end to the hostilities plaguing the region. In the following months, the two groups were jointly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and WSO co-founder Reem Hajajrehh and WWP co-founder Yael Admi were named by Time magazine as Women of the Year. Since then, representatives of the groups have travelled extensively, meeting high level diplomats, speaking at parliamentary sessions, and accepting accolades and awards, including the prestigious Diane bon Furstenberg award honouring women who embody courage, resilience, and leadership.

“Precisely now in this deep rift we are all in we have a historical opportunity to make sure this terrible war is the last war between the sea and the Jordan River,” Yael Admi noted upon accepting that award in Venice in September. “As women, our determination, our creativity, and devotion are crucial to finding sustainable solutions that ensure safety and prosperity for all. As Vivian Silver said … the only way to be safe is through peace. Military force will never give us security.”

That was the same message that was emphasized at a massive peace rally that WWP and WOS helped organize in Tel Aviv this past July. The rally was attended by thousands in person and streamed and watched on-line by peace group supporters across Europe, South America, the US and Canada.

Chana Thau, co-founder of Canadian Supporters of Women Wage Peace-Winnipeg group, was one of those who watched that inspiring peace rally from afar. Like all foreign support groups of WWP, her nascent Winnipeg group is still trying to determine how best to reinforce the Israeli group’s efforts.

“Our goals are to support the work of Women Wage Peace in Israel by raising awareness of this group and other peace groups that exist in Israel and to create dialogue with Palestinian and Muslim women,” Thau says.

To date, the local group (of which, full disclosure, I am a member) has held three meetings, including one in which the women in attendance — Jewish, Muslim and Christian — listened raptly as founding members of WWP and WOS explained The Mothers’ Call on the podcast, Hope is a Verb, and discussed ideas for future bridge-building programming, including film screenings, panel discussions and street actions. They also considered the possibility of working together with other peace-minded Winnipeg groups like the fledgling Friends of Standing Together. Standing Together is a grassroots Israeli-Palestinian support group which, like WWP, is committed to the pursuit of peace and equality for all.

“Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun provide hope even in these dark days,” says Esther Blum, the other co-founder of the local WWP support group. “Getting together a group of women in Winnipeg who want peace and to come together to support the organizations in Israel/Palestine is one small step in a complicated and slow process towards peace.”

“My feeling,” she adds, “is that the Canadian community, especially Jewish and Muslim, needs to know that there are groups promoting peace in Israel and Palestine and in Winnipeg and other cities in Canada — not just protest!”

Many years ago, Blum lived on the kibbutz that eventually became Vivian Silver’s home and the place from where she conducted much of her peace-building work and nurtured friendships with many Gazans. That gift of friendship has not been forgotten. As The Times of Israel recently reported, one of the community spaces in the Zomi displaced persons’ camp in the Gazan humanitarian zone has been named in memory of Silver. Her photo adorns the signage.

The first anniversary of Oct. 7 will be commemorated this week by Jewish institutions and organizations around the world. In Israel, WWP and many of the communities most harshly affected by the Hamas onslaught will be participating in alternative memorials instead of the official state ceremony being planned by the government.

In Canada, supporters of WWP are invited to attend Holding Our Pain, Fighting for Peace, an online event hosted by J-Space, New Israel Fund and Canadian Friends of Peace Now.

The Oct. 6 event will feature interfaith leaders from across Canada and hear testimony from both Israelis and Palestinians who have suffered trauma, loss and grief in this most terrible of years.

swchisvin@gmail.com

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