The project ‘Women’s Security Index’ (WSI) is measuring the sense of safety and security of women active in different social struggles in Israel. In the Israeli discourse the term security (“bitachon”) is used mostly in the military sense.  But is this really the one and only level relevant to women’s sense of security, or even the biggest one? What are the elements that contribute to women’s sense of safety and security and what undermines it? The Women’s Security Index aims at broadening this narrow definition and understanding of women’s safety by relating it to issues of health, social, political, economy, physical, as well as sexual and gender identity, etc.

WSI is a coalition of 6 Jewish and Palestinian feminist organizations: Isha L’Isha – Haifa Feminist Center, Coalition of Women for Peace, Kayan Feminist Organization, Aswat Palestinian Gay Women, Women Against Violence, New Profile, each making it’s unique contribution to the project.

Following a growing sense of escalation in violence used by security forces and civilians to silence and intimidate women activists, Coalition of Women for Peace and Women’s Security Index set a goal to research and present activists’ security from a feminist perspective. We believe there’s a need to develop a strategy and build safety nets to strengthen the activists’ security. In order to present an in depth analysis with reliable information, we conducted a survey concerning security issues among Palestinian and Jewish women activists who live in Israel.

“The protest came to an end when the last protestors who came from Haifa got on a bus and left. Or so we thought. This was actually the beginning. At this point, there remained about 50 protestors, mainly from Haifa, who had come by foot or by car. Our intention was to go home. The police began dispersing as well, but the extreme right- wing protestors did not show any signs of dispersing. On the contrary, they just kept multiplying. Not only that, we soon realized that they were spread out in groups in all the alleys surrounding us, behind bushes at the entrances to buildings, everywhere, ambushing protestors trying to leave. My friends and I (at this point we were 6 or 7) tried to leave through the backyard of one of the buildings, and soon were chased back by angry protestors who ambushed us with the intention of attacking us physically.”[1]

This is only a glimpse of what women activists face every day in Israel.

[1] From Khuloud Khamis’s testimony about a demonstration in Haifa against the attack on Gaza in the summer of 2014. First published on her blog.

 CWP WSI WHRD survey findings summary

Organizations and international institutions are warning that Gaza is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis[1] in spite of the humanitarian aid provided by the international community. Already now, Gaza is facing a water crisis, extreme pollution, electricity shortage, restricted access to health services and education as well as economic distress. All these hardships turn life into a daily struggle for survival for Gaza’s residents, both women and men. Amidst all this, women are dealing with a wide range of gender specific challenges[2]. This situation is the cumulative outcome of a decade-long siege on Gaza, in addition to the frequent military offensives on the strip every few years, and the failed attempts at reconstruction in-between these rounds.

The Gaza strip is under a high degree of effective control by Israel and is therefore under its occupation. Israel has repeatedly refused to fulfill its obligations under international law.

Therefore, we turn to the UN and EU, to hold Israel accountable and to ensure human rights for Gaza’s residents.

Link to the petition: https://goo.gl/JUjaqb

[1] https://goo.gl/tpN0fZ

[2] Ref: WOMEN BEYOND THE SIEGE: Collection of articles on womn in gaza, Coalition of Women for Peace, 2017.

On the 18^th day of the ‘dignity strike’, a hunger strike of 1500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, the Israeli Prison Service continues to employ arbitrary methods to subdue them: After prisoners refused to drink water, their health is deteriorating and they were put into solitary confinement.

Currently there are 6300 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, including 500 administrative detainees, 300 children and 61 women, 70 Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, 480 prisoners from Jerusalem and 330 prisoners from Gaza, as well as 13 members of the Palestinian legislative council.

The main demands of the prisoners refer to an end to administration detention of 500 administrative detainees; an end to the policy of solitary confinement; improvements in visitation rights; an end to medical negligence; the release of prisoners with special needs and terminal diseases; an increase in the number of visitations and phone calls with family members; and an improvement in the living conditions of the political prisoners according to international humanitarian standards.

We, as the Coalition of Women for Peace, see this treatment of prisoners as yet another layer in the policies of oppression, violence and occupation of the Israeli authorities against the Palestinian people. The prisoners demand basic humanitarian rights and appropriate conditions in accordance with international law. Now on the 18^th day of the hunger strike, intervention is a necessity. We call on the Embassies located in Israel to promote the prisoners’ demands and pressure the Israeli government to fulfill its commitments under international law.

UN and EU: it is in your hands!

1. Include women and youth in all analysis and policy decisions related to Gaza.
2. Ensure Israeli accountability for its human rights violations in Gaza.

Organizations and international institutions are warning that Gaza is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis[1] in spite of the humanitarian aid provided by the international community. Already now, Gaza is facing a water crisis, extreme pollution, electricity shortage, restricted access to health services and education as well as economic distress. All these hardships turn life into a daily struggle for survival for Gaza’s residents, both women and men. Amidst all this, women are dealing with a wide range of gender specific challenges[2]. This situation is the cumulative outcome of a decade-long siege on Gaza, in addition to the frequent military offensives on the strip every few years, and the failed attempts at reconstruction in-between these rounds.

The Gaza strip is under a high degree of effective control by Israel and is therefore under its occupation. Israel has repeatedly refused to fulfill its obligations under international law.

Therefore, we turn to the UN and EU, to hold Israel accountable and to ensure human rights for Gaza’s residents.

Link to the petition: https://goo.gl/JUjaqb

[1] https://goo.gl/tpN0fZ

[2] Ref: WOMEN BEYOND THE SIEGE: Collection of articles on womn in gaza, Coalition of Women for Peace, 2017.

A series of videos of Women from Susiya and the Jordan Valley talking about their daily reality of living under Israeli
occupation- part of Coalition of Women for Peace campaign that aims to expose the Israeli oppressive policies in
the occupied territories that work with impunity, and to create a civil mechanism to oppose them

watch the videos on youtube
Jazia Jibrin Nawaja’ , Susiya

Islam Nawaja, Susiya

 Najiyeh Abdallah Hafedh, The Jordan Valley

Coalition of Women for Peace is marking our  15^th anniversary by screening testimonies collected especially for this event: women from Susiya and the Jordan Valley talking about their daily reality of living under Israeli occupation

Facebook event

Also on the agenda: a photo exhibition and a panel discussion on human rights violations and the lives of Palestinian women under occupation

Together, we will mark years of activism and partnerships in the struggle against the occupation and subjugation of the Palestinian people. We will take a closer look at the complexities and vulnerabilities of the lives of Palestinian women under occupation. And together, we will think about ways and activities to change the reality of occupation and transform the current political discourse that ensures Israel’s impunity from international law.

Sunday, November 29, at 17:00 at the Arab-Jewish Theater, 10 Mifratz Shlomo, Tel Aviv-Yaffa

17:00-17:30 Gathering

17:30-18:00 Opening speech

18:00-18:45 Screening of testimonials of Palestinian Women

19:00-20:00 Panel with: Nisreen Al-Ayan, advocate with ACRI, on the violation of women’s rights in East Jerusalem; Maysoon Badawi, field researcher with Yesh Din, on trends in human rights violations; and Rajaa Natour, CWP, on the vulnerability of women under occupation

Moderation: Jessica Nevo, CWP

cwp@coalitionofwomen.org

http://www.coalitionofwomen.org/

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The BDS movement and its supporters in Israel have been subject in the past few years to increasingly more blatant and institutional forms of silencing and public demonization. First flagged by the extreme right, support for BDS is now restricted by law, through the anti-boycott legislation (July 2011). In April 2015 this anti-democratic law won the stamp of legitimacy from the Israeli High Court of Justice. Most recently the issue has been taken up by public figures, politicians and the Israeli media in an orchestrated campaign to turn the BDS movement and its supporters into the enemies of the state and a “strategic threat.”

In the shadow of this inflammatory rhetoric and institutional incitement, we must defend the legitimacy of positions critical of the Israeli government policies of brutal occupation and apartheid. We at the Coalition of Women for Peace support and defend the rights of Palestinians to live in freedom and in dignity. We support their legitimate struggle to put an end to the Israeli occupation and ongoing oppression, and we support the call for cultural and economic boycott, divestment and international sanctions to increase pressure on Israel from the international community. This form of civil resistance is recognized as a legitimate tool within Non-Violent struggles all over the world and is particularly effective against Israel that systematically violates international norms. It is our civilian duty to resist the disenfranchisement of the Palestinian people, the political imprisonment of hundreds including children and minors, egregious military violence, land grab, and economic profiteering from the occupation.

We therefore call upon organizations who are active in the struggle against the occupation, and particularly the feminist movements in Israel, to actively defy any anti-democratic law aimed to restrict our activities and silence our protest, to stand up clearly in support of the Palestinians, and to use any legitimate tool to continue the struggle against Israeli policies and for human rights. It is of vital importance that we, activists from Israel/Palestine, join campaigns in the international arena to discourage international support and diplomatic backing for Israel’s policies. We call upon activists in Israel and all over the world to use effective means and pressure governments and the business community in order to stop their complicity with the occupation and bring about change in the status quo.

אנחנו בתקופה עמוסה, קשה מאד מבחינה פוליטית, ולעיתים רבות מייאשת מאד. אבל גם תקופה של הרבה מאד פעילות ומאמצים להשמיע קול שמתנגד למתקפה על עזה ולכיבוש, קול פמיניסטי בלתי מתפשר.

רבות מכן היו איתנו במחאה ברחוב ואחרות תמכו בנו מרחוק בדרכים אחרות. עבורנו זו ללא ספק תקופה של עבודה קשה. אין לדעת לאן יתפתחו דברים, אבל מה שבטוח זה שהכיבוש והדיכוי לא יסתיימו מחר, ויש עוד המון עבודה לעשות.

אנחנו חייבות לדאוג להמשך תרומות לקואליציית נשים לשלום. זה קריטי עבורנו להתחיל להסתמך גם על תמיכה מחברות\תומכים שלנו פה באזור וברחבי העולם, ולא רק ע”י קרנות חיצוניות, וקריטי עבורנו לדאוג לעוד מימון לחודשים שנותרו ב 2014

איך אתן יכולות לעזור?
1. לתרום כפי יכולתכן , כל סכום עוזר
אפשר לתרום בצ’ק לפקודת קואליציית נשים לשלום ולשלוח אלינו בדואר- יגיע כפיים 3, ת”א
בהעברה בנקאית לחשבון ע”ש קואליציית נשים לשלום, 512400, בנק דיסקונט, סניף המושבה, 062, ירושלים
אפשר לתרום בכרטיס אשראי בינלאומי בדף התרומות (כל סכום עוזר, ותרומה חודשית קבועה בדף התרומות שלנו זו אופציה שכמעט לא מרגישות בכיס, אבל עבורנו היא משמעותית מאד!)

https://org2.salsalabs.com/o/7315/donate_page/coalition-women-peace

2. לשלוח למכרים וחברות, קולגות וארגונים\קהילות רלוונטיות בחו”ל. כדאי להוסיף כמה מילים אישיות מכן בפתיחה, זה לרוב גורם לאנשים תחושה טובה יותר ועוזר גם בגיוס כספים עצמו. נסו לעודד אנשים לתרום סכום חודשי, אפילו סכום צנוע בכל חודש, מצטבר אצלנו ועוזר לקיים את פעילות הארגון

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קואליציית נשים לשלום קוראות לכן ולכם להשמיע קול בערב סולידריות עם משפחתה של פעילת השלום רייצ’ל קורי. לדף האירוע בפייסבוק בתכנית הערב: — ההצגה “קוראים לי רייצ’ל קורי” על פי כתביה של רייצ’ל קורי — שיחה עם הוריה של רייצ’ל קורי, סינדי וקרייג קורי ודוברים נוספים.   ב-16 במרץ 2003, רייצ’ל קורי, סטודנטית אמריקנית בת 24, מתנדבת בתנועת הסולידריות הבין-לאומית (ISM), נדרסה למוות בידי דחפור צה”לי בשעה שהגנה בגופה על בית פלסטיני בעזה ב- 28.8.2012 פסק בית המשפט המחוזי בחיפה כי משפחתה של קורי איננה זכאית לפיצויים ממדינת ישראל משום שנהרגה לדברי השופט ב”תאונה שהביאה על עצמה” ביום ד’ ה-21.5.2014 ידון בבית המשפט העליון בירושלים הערעור שהגישה המשפחה. *** רגע לפני הדיון בעליון, בואו לתמוך במשפחה ולהביע סולידריות כנגד הפגיעה האלימה במפגינים ומפגינות, מגיני זכויות אדם אשר נאבקים למען סיום הכיבוש. *** בתכנית הערב: — ההצגה “קוראים לי רייצ’ל קורי” על פי כתביה של רייצ’ל קורי (בימוי:ארי רמז; משחק: סיון קרצ’נר) — שיחה עם הוריה של רייצ’ל קורי, סינדי וקרייג קורי ודוברים נוספים. *** אנא הזמינו מקומות מראש: ליהי יפה 050-8464823 (ניתן לשלוח סמס ולציין שם ומספר מקומות) *אנו מבקשות ממשתפי הערב לתרום לכיסוי העלויות בגובה של 30 ש”ח או יותר. כל ההכנסות העודפות יתרמו ל-Rachel Corrie Foundation ולהמשך מאבקה.