Women seek solution to Arab-Israeli strife

Jewish and Palestinian women working together to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict was discussed earlier this week at a Hillel program entitled "Women's Visions of Peace: An Arab-Jewish Dialogue." Paula Gluzman, an Israeli kibbutz member and political activist, told the group of 50 students and community members that the first step towards peace and an end to the decades-long conflict is talking with the Palestinians. "In Israel it is forbidden to talk to the [Palestinian Liberation Organization], it is [considered] betrayal," Gluzman said. "Those are the representatives of the Palestinians and we have to talk to them." Gluzman also discussed backward strides for Israeli women, such as fewer women in the Israeli parliament, growing numbers of battered women and less women hired for "outstanding posts" after graduating from universities. The second speaker, Mariam Mar'i, is the first Palestinian woman to receive a Ph.D. in Israel. She represented the Women's Network for Peace, a group of Jewish and Palestinian women dedicated to a grassroots campaign for peace in the Middle East. Mar'i spoke of building understanding between the two sides and emphasized the uniqueness of women's roles in the conflict. "We have become a patriarchal society," Mar'i said. "Men have been in the dominating position in decision making. Women with their distance were able to see realities with different perspectives, with pictures that are a little bit clearer." Both speakers declared that their vision of a peaceful Palestine would be one divided, a two-state solution. "Two states side-by-side with a lot of neighboring and a lot of security to ease anxieties," Mar'i said. "Two states which will give full citizenship. Both democratic, both secular, both egalitarian." Mar'i suggested an experiment, "give it a chance for peace, five years. If it doesn't work, go back to war." Both speakers also stressed the importance of American Jewry. "If the U.S. role was minimal and unimportant, I don't believe that we'd have come all these miles to be here," Mar'i said. College senior Rachel Burgan, a member of the Penn Jewish Feminist Collaborative, said she was pleased with the speakers. "It's always nice to get an opinion from other women," she said. "You hear so much from men, especially government and the media." College sophomore Shana Minkin, a member of the Penn-Israel Connection, described the speakers as "intelligent and articulate." The program was co-sponsored by the Penn-Israel Connection, the Christian Association, Drexel University Hillel, the Penn Jewish Feminist Collaborative, the Political Science Department, and the Penn Women's Center.

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