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Bless you for forwarding that, Alison. I shall pass it on. Happy New Year Dave David Bircumshaw Leicester, England Home Page A Chide's Alphabet Painting Without Numbers www.paintstuff.20m.com/index.htm http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bircumshaw/index.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alison Croggon" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2001 9:52 PM Subject: Fwd: Fw: A Ray of Sunshine from Corinna in Israel, with best wishes for a happy new year > >From: "Corinna Hasofferet" <[log in to unmask]> > >To: "H Edwards" <[log in to unmask]> > >Cc: "AGNI Magazine" <[log in to unmask]>, > > "Agencia Carmen Balcells" <[log in to unmask]>, > > "Acroggon" <[log in to unmask]> > >Subject: Fw: A Ray of Sunshine from Corinna in Israel, with best > >wishes for a happy new year > >Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 19:48:31 +0200 > >X-Priority: 3 > > > > > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: Gila Svirsky <[log in to unmask]> > >To: Coalition of Women for a Just Peace <[log in to unmask]> > >Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2001 12:59 AM > >Subject: A Ray of Sunshine > > > > > >| Friends, > >| > >| Today was a ray of sunshine in an otherwise bleak Middle East. > >| > >| At 9:30 a.m., the organizers were still discussing whether the march > >| should be held single file or two-by-two, as the police refused to grant > >| us a permit to walk in the streets, wanting to contain us on the broad > >| sidewalk. By 10:30 a.m., we saw there would be no hope of containing the > >| vast crowd that had showed up. > >| > >| An amazing 5,000 people, most dressed in black, turned up for today's > >| events, beginning with the March of Mourning for all the victims -- > >| Palestinian and Israeli -- of the Occupation. Responding to the call of > >| the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace, people from all over the world > >| found their way to the vigil plaza today. When the signal came to begin, > >| we were all mixed up with each other -- Israeli, Palestinian, European, > >| American -- and began a slow, solemn walk, in silence (mostly), with only > >| a funereal cadence sounded by two women drummers at the center of this > >| long procession. Although the extreme right wing staged a > >| counterdemonstration at the beginning of our route, their small number > >| (about 30) and angry shouts only served to dramatize the power of our own > >| dignified presence. > >| > >| We led with a huge banner, "The Occupation is Killing Us All", as well as > >| hundreds of black hands with white lettering "Stop the Occupation", and > >| scores of signs calling for peace, a state of Palestine beside the state > >| of Israel, and sharing this beautiful city of Jerusalem, loved so long by > >| so many. It was an unseasonably warm and balmy winter morning, and we > >| were suddenly feeling hopeful and powerful marching together this way. > >| Although the police were trying to keep us all walking on the sidewalk, > >| soon we burst our seams and spread out into the road, blocking traffic > >| along the route. And Ezra, long-time supporter of Women in Black in > >| Jerusalem, walked among us, handing out a thousand red roses to Women in > >| Black until the roses ran out, though the women did not. > >| > >| We made our way slowly toward the broad, new plaza just outside historic > >| Jaffa Gate, one of the main entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem. By > >| the time everyone arrived, we had filled up the plaza completely, with > >| spillover inside the gate and along the roads leading up to it. Past the > >| stage, participants could see as backdrop the beautiful Citadel, rising > >| from the walls of the Old City, with the Valley of Gethsemane spread out > >| beyond in a breathtaking view. > >| > >| The entire program was moderated in Hebrew and Arabic by Dalit Baum and > >| Camilia Bader-Araf, co-MCs. They acknowledged the Knesset members who had > >| joined us for the events -- Muhammed Barake, Naomi Chazan, Zehava Galon, > >| Tamar Gozansky, Anat Maor, Issam Makhoul, and Mossi Raz -- as well as the > >| delegations from Belgium, Canada, England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, > >| and the U.S. Marcia Freedman, former Israeli MK and long-standing Woman > >| in Black, read the list of 118 locations around the world where solidarity > >| events were planned for the same day (from Adelaide to Zaragoza -- see our > >| website for the full list). > >| > >| Speeches opened with Shulamit Aloni, first lady of human rights in Israel > >| and former government minister, comparing our struggle to end the > >| occupation with the struggles led by Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther > >| King, reminding us that although the task is arduous, it will inevitably > >| be crowned with success. She was followed by other powerful speeches -- > >| Nurit Peled Elhanan, winner of the Sakharov Peace Prize, awarded by the > >| European Parliament, and mother of Smadar, 13 years old when she was > >| killed by a terrorist bomb in Jerusalem; Zahira Kamal, courageous > >| Palestinian activist for peace as well as the rights of women and workers, > >| who found a way to outwit the closure in order to reach Jerusalem and > >| address this rally; Luisa Morgantini, irrepressible Italian member of the > >| European Parliament and devoted supporter of the women's peace movement in > >| the Middle East; Khulood Badawi, chair of the Association of Arab Students > >| in Israel; and Vera Lichtenfels, a 17-year old Portuguese peace activist, > >| representing youth all over the world who are working for peace. > >| > >| These speeches were eloquent and inspiring, but I myself was especially > >| moved by the ceremony of torch lighting by 13 Israeli organizations who > >| have shown extraordinary commitment to activism for peace and human > >| rights. Each representative lit a torch about one aspect related to their > >| work -- the killed, the wounded, the homes demolished, the trees uprooted, > >| the children whose lives were fractured, as well as the efforts of those > >| who refuse to give in to the despair, but keep on struggling to transform > >| this nightmare into a vision of peace and partnership (see below for the > >| names and descriptions of these organizations). > >| > >| These are words that one simply doesn't hear in this region, so publicly, > >| by Israelis and Palestinians together. And then we held a concert rarely > >| heard in the Middle East -- a "peace happening" of Palestinian and Israeli > >| performers. It opened with the Elisheva Trio -- 3 talented black Jewish > >| women from Dimona, singing peace songs in soul and rock arrangements. > >| There were readings of poetry and plays, a performance piece, and an > >| amazing duo of young Palestinian rappers from Lydda/Lod doing Arabic and > >| Hebrew political lyrics. Ending it all was a hopeful reprise by the > >| Elisheva Trio, with many in the crowd holding hands, swaying, and singing > >| together. > >| > >| When the concert was over, few wanted to leave and let go of the feeling > >| that peace is really possible. Fortunately, we didn't really have to, > >| because Peace Now was holding its own optimistic rally just inside Jaffa > >| Gate, with Palestinians and Israelis signing a Peace Declaration and > >| releasing doves into the sky over the city. Palestinians and Israelis > >| wandered in and out the streets of the Old City trying to hold tight to > >| the beautiful warm thaw in the air, within this long winter of violence > >| and tragedy. > >| > >| This evening, I watched Israeli TV to see if anything was reported about > >| the hope for peace that had swept through Jerusalem today. I saw nothing > >| about either the Coalition of Women for Peace or the Peace Now events, > >| though I did hear that the Coalition action made the radio news several > >| times today. We are used to this by now, and it brought to mind the words > >| of Shulamit Aloni earlier today: "Even though Israel's 'patriotic' media > >| seek to ignore you, there is no doubt that your voice will be heard and > >| that a great many others will join your cause. You will break through the > >| silence because yours is a vision of freedom, justice, and peace." > >| > >| May it come to pass. Today I feel more hopeful than I have for a long, > >| long while. > >| > >| Thank you to everyone all over the world who joined us in solidarity > >| today, whether in vigils, through contributions, or in your hearts. > >| > >| Shalom, salaam, > >| Gila Svirsky > >| Jerusalem > >| > >| _________________________ > >| Special thanks for their support, which made this event possible: Svinna > >| till Svinna Foundation, the Moriah Fund, Sally Gottesman, the Steve Berman > >| Social Action Award, and many individuals from all over the world. > >| > >| The organizations represented at the torch lighting ceremony (in > >| alphabetical order): > >| > >| **Bat Shalom - the Israeli side of The Jerusalem Link: A Women's Joint > >| Venture for Peace, seeking peace through partnership with Palestinian > >| women. > >| **Gush Shalom - determined fighters to end the occupation, recent > >| recipients of the "Alternative Nobel Peace Prize". > >| **High School seniors - a group of Israeli high school seniors who signed > >| a letter asserting their refusal to serve in the army to support the > >| occupation. > >| **Israel Committee Against Home Demolitions - seeking to expose and end > >| the crime of demolishing homes of Palestinians. > >| **Machsom Watch - women monitoring military checkpoints to end the abuse > >| of Palestinians at these locations. > >| **Mothers and Women for Peace - formerly the 4 Mothers Movement, who were > >| instrumental in getting Israel out of Lebanese occupation. > >| **New Profile - seeking to end militarism in Israeli society and support > >| conscientious objection to army service. > >| **Peace Now - mobilizing to end the occupation, and focused on the > >| illegality of the Israeli settlements in the territories. > >| **Rabbis for Human Rights - bringing a religious Jewish perspective to the > >| struggle to end the injustice of occupation. > >| **Ta'ayush - a partnership of Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel, > >| providing aid and resistance to the occupation throughout the territories. > >| **TANDI - struggling for rights for Arab women, and coexistence between > >| Jews and Arabs within Israel. > >| **Women in Black - holding vigils throughout the world to stop violence > >| and injustice, founded in Jerusalem in 1988 to end the occupation. > >| **Yesh Gvul - encouraging soldiers to refuse service in the occupied > >| territories. > >| > >| One picture is already up at our website: > >| Web site of the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace: > >| http://www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org > >| > >| > >| > > > -- > > > Alison Croggon > > Home page > http://www.users.bigpond.com/acroggon/ > Masthead > http://au.geocities.com/masthead_2/ >