Women Share Vision Of Peace In Middle East

By Akhila Kolisetty The Daily Northwestern

They are women of three different faiths, but they share a common dream of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

These women - Muslim Palestinian Huda Abu Arqoub, Jewish Israeli Tal Dor and Christian Palestinian Amal Nassar - spoke to about 50 people Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. in the McCormick Tribune Center Forum.

The women came to NU as part of a 13th annual "Jerusalem Women Speak: Three Women, Three Faiths, One Shared Vision" national tour organized by Partners for Peace, a non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C.

"It is very challenging because a lot of people don't know what is going on with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," said Tala Rahmeh, a student at American University in Washington, D.C. who helped organize the tour. "We want to inform Americans … and encourage people to go research on their own."

The event was free and sponsored by the Gender Studies program and the Roberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies.

"There have been many men speaking about Israel and Palestine," said Susanne Waldorf, program director for Partners for Peace. "But we wanted to bring women peacemakers' voices to America."

The women recounted their personal histories and experiences growing up in the midst of conflict.

"The history of the Palestinians was not spoken of in our society," said Dor, who calls herself a nonviolent activist against the Israeli occupation. "The problem is with not knowing. … We have to go find the information and become activists."

Nassar discussed the problems with Israeli checkpoints that prevent Palestinians from commuting easily between cities and restrict their access to medical care.

"At the checkpoints, people must show permission to pass," she said. "Sometimes mothers have difficulty bringing their sick children to a hospital. … They have to wait hours at the checkpoint."

She described a mother who died during childbirth and a man who died from a heart attack while waiting to pass a checkpoint.

Arqoub emphasized the importance of education, citing examples from her own childhood.

"I had to read textbooks that were censored by the occupation directors," she said. "They had big gaps in information and no mention of Palestine ... We had to make an effort to learn it ourselves."

She also spoke about her struggles as a Muslim woman.

"The closest I came to wearing the veil was when I was here in the U.S., to show that I am proud of my religion," she said. "When I am in my country, I don't wear a veil though I live in a conservative area."

They encouraged the audience to engage in activism and make an effort to cause change.

"You cannot be silent because it will kill you from the inside," Arqoub said. "If the Palestinians had been silent they would be a forgotten people."

The first step is to read more and learn about the situation, Dor said.

"Go see what is going on with your own eyes and do something to make changes," she said.

Jacob Pace, program coordinator for Partners for Peace, said he also hoped the tour would "educate people and motivate them to take action and change foreign policy in the U.S."

Communication sophomore James Kowalsky said he learned a lot from the event.

"One of the main messages they stressed is that you need to start learning, start understanding what is happening," he said. "Then you can start figuring out the solutions."

Reach Akhila Kolisetty at a-kolisetty@northwestern.edu.