Israeli and Palestinian women ‘on same side’ says peace campaigner

Image source, Gal Mosenson

Michael Shuval

BBC 100 Women

“There was great hope in the air,” smiles Yael Braudo-Bahat, recalling a rally by the Dead Sea on 4 October. “Israeli and Palestinian women came together in their thousands demanding an end to the conflict and violence.”

Braudo-Bahat is a lawyer and co-director of Women Wage Peace (WWP), an NGO led by women campaigning for a negotiated political resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With more than 50,000 members, WWP is considered the largest grassroots peace movement in Israel.

The rally, three days before Hamas attacked Israel, was organised with WWP’s sister Palestinian movement, Women of the Sun. They demanded an end to “the cycle of bloodshed” and called on Palestinians, Israelis and others in the region to show their support for resolving the conflict.

“We were excited and optimistic,” says Braudo-Bahat.

Image source, Tamar Matsafi

A key person involved in the event was Vivian Silver, a co-founder of WWP and one of Israel’s best-known peace campaigners. “She was a close friend and a mentor,” says Braudo-Bahat.

But just three days later, on the morning of 7 October when Hamas attacked, Silver was in serious trouble. Kibbutz Be’eri, where she lived, quickly flooded with gunmen.

“The last message we got from Vivian was at 10:52,” Braudo-Bahat recalls. “She heard terrorists enter the house and leave. She was hiding in her safe room behind a closet door. I sent Vivian a message that I’m thinking about her and hugging her from afar, hoping that she was safe.”

Dozens of Silver’s neighbours were murdered in their homes. Nearly 30 others were kidnapped.

“Testimonies of terrified survivors suggested Vivian was kidnapped,” explains Braudo-Bahat.

But five weeks later Silver’s remains were identified in the kibbutz. The hopes of her family, friends and many supporters around the world were shattered.

“After her funeral I felt like I lost my cane,” says a Braudo-Bahat tearfully. “I could always lean on her. I said to myself: ‘I can either fall down or take strength and lift myself up.’ This is what I’m doing. Standing up. From the horror, from the ashes, peace is my mission. I won’t give up.”

Silver is not the only loved one Braudo-Bahat lost in the attack. Her friends Matti and Amir Weiss, who also lived in the kibbutz, were murdered too. About 1,200 people were killed by Hamas that day, mostly civilians, living in communities along the Gaza border.

Among the victims were peace activists, women and children. Hamas also kidnapped dozens of women, and according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, 40 children.

Israel has accused Hamas of committing sexual violence against women and testimonies presented to the media paint images of horrific sexual assaults.

“It’s unbearable. It’s unforgivable,” says Yael Braudo-Bahat. “Women were raped. There is evidence. There are eyewitnesses, testimonies of women who were raped. We know it happened.”

She is angry with women’s organisations that have not spoken out about this.

She wants the UN to “acknowledge, condemn, investigate and prosecute these gender crimes… it doesn’t mean they are against the Palestinians, this is the time when women’s organisations all over the world need to unite, condemn and act against it”.

And right now, she wants to strengthen links with Palestinian women, saying: “Both of us feel the sorrow of the other, because we are on the same side. We are mothers. We are women. We want a better future for everyone here in this region.”

Looking back, Braudo-Bahat says she was inspired by a photograph of thousands of women marching together in October 2016.

“It was a rare show of female unity,” she says, describing a scene outside Qasr al-Yahud, a Christian baptism site in the West Bank. More than 3,000 Israeli and 1,000 Palestinian women joined the walk through the Jordan valley, calling for peace.

Image source, Getty Images

“You couldn’t distinguish who was Israeli and who was Palestinian. The image of a trail of women gave me a feeling of movement, the ability to look forwards,” she explains.

Seeing the women together made her feel that they were in partnership and anything was possible.

“I’m lucky to have many moments like this in Women Wage Peace. The work is very hard but from time to time you have these moments in which you feel you are part of history in the making.”

Going back further, it is evident that Braudo-Bahat’s commitment to peace is rooted even deeper, in a family tragedy.

Her father, Avi Bahat, was 21 years old when the 1973 war broke out. Israel had suffered severe losses in battles with Egypt and Syria, and he was recruited into the IDF’s missing persons unit. “He searched for body parts in Sinai and the Golan Heights. His best friend was killed near Kibbutz Be’eri on the first day of the war,” says Braudo-Bahat.

Image source, Yael Barudo-Bahat

“He was apparently post-traumatic, but at that time it was not talked about at all. At the age of 40, my father took his own life in the fields of Kibbutz Be’eri.

“It took me several years of peace activism to realize that I was making peace for him as well. For him and for my mother who carried his pain for almost 20 years.”

As we return to the present day, she is adamant the current cycle of violence in Gaza must be resolved. “The hostages should be the top priority,” she insists.

“The government should consider political alternatives that would save the lives of Israeli soldiers and the lives of Gazan civilians, weaken Hamas, promote and strengthen the moderate forces in the region and promote peace,” she says.

“Without a political agreement I don’t see a future.”

BBC 100 Women names 100 inspiring and influential women around the world every year. Follow BBC 100 Women on Instagram and Facebook. Join the conversation using #BBC100Women.

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