RESPONSES TO: A Letter to Israeli and Palestinian Women

Reaching Out to Peace: Joining Our Hearts With Yours

Thank you beloved Ann and all the beautiful ladies! Infinite gratitude!

Thank you for the kind words bursting out of pure hearts to vibrant its vivid echo in all hearts.

We should never give up, we must ever remember the peaceful option which as always is right in here, right in the NOW. Even during times like present, we should realize how much suffering and violence are useless. Always understand that we can produce and provide only what we are! Only when we practice peace, we can provide it! The sources are endless!

Never give up! Stay centered and most of all - pray! Pray for the rapid awakening of all involved, pray for the rapid awakening of all witnesses, pray for the people in Gaza, the Israeli people around Gaza, both suffer for too long. Both sides innocent! Both sides are ONE!!! Only ignorance avoid seeing the only option that work - respect each other's rights to live in peace and harmony!

As for myself, I continue my educational work as much as possible also with children in the Israeli (naturally I cannot enter Gaza Strip…) settlements around Gaza Strip. I also volunteer in the Shibba (Tel Hashomer) children hospital in Israel, where over than 50 Palestinian cancer kids mainly from Gaza, youngest 6 weeks up to 16 years old, are getting the best treatment by Israeli best medical teams also during this time. Those kids stay there for months, often with only one family member to escort. Rest of the families now in Gaza… those kids and the families, as you may guess – are not in their best! Fighting the cancer, staying in foreign (enemy?!) country, different languages, different mentality and on top of it all, especially now, deep concern for the families back home with all the disasters… they need our prayers! They need it so desperately! Can we provide?! Oh yes! We can!

Believe it! BE it! I trust you! I trust us!

This is my call, that is my goal and eternal mission!

Million thanks!

In Oneness and infinite loving gratitude - Hagit

JewChriSlam

Ms. Hagit Ra'anan
Bridges of Peace
Jerusalem Peacemakers


Melisse here.

I am a firm believer that the circle of energy which Marcia birthed is something that is meant to serve not only the present, but also the future. The fact that there are Israeli and Palestinian individuals, professionals and laymen, standing together in a practical initiative - which is already evolving into a program for dealing with the aftermath of trauma in the children - is something which must be KNOWN.

Therefore, if you are asking what you can do to help, in my opinion, what is needed is to find the funds to publish the petition in a full page add in the New York Times for all the world to see.

There are now 700 signatures on the petition. Even if there were only TWO - one Israeli and one Palestinian - this would justify the cost. We are field-workers, always scrounging for the cash. In this case, one form of help could be to secure the resources for healing which I believe that publishing this particular petition will serve.

Sincerely,
Melisse Boskovich
Peace Child Israel


Thank you so much for this heartfelt letter - it comes to me at a moment of such deep pain and sorrow - I would ask you right now to hold me in my pain....and pray for our girls who I pray are still alive......I have not been able to get hold of the girls from Gaza for a few day now....those from Sderot came up to the Galilee to their friends from camp on Kfar Hanassi...but now have gone back home....

This ancient feud that we have inherited is going for one more circle of bloodshed and revenge - when will this ever stop????.....and turn to a spiral of reconciliation....

We work with these teenage girls at Creativity for Peace who come to our camp and experience amazing transformation. Girls come with hatred, anger, pain, fear, trauma and after hearing each other's stories of living in this conflict, they leave loving each other - having hope for peace....keep in touch, meet here afterwards - making an enormous effort to be together and now what can I say to them???? -

How can I hold them in this craziness - they are hurting double now ...for themsleves and for the other side....this is what I am hearing from so many of them..the confusion of feeling with 'their own' side and feeling with 'the other'....

I was so excited when I saw Marcia's letter last night about the schools - an idea to shelter the women and children is schools - and then wake up this morning to hear that we bombed a school in Jabalya ...this is where our girls are -

I feel ashamed ! I feel so angry! I feel so hopeless! I feel helpless! I feel like screaming! I feel pain for the soldiers who are forced to kill people! I know these kids...they are my own son's friends. .loving wonderful kids .. maybe my son will be called up - I feel pain for the new families of who are joining all the other families of dead ones on both sides! I feel pain for the Palestinians! The pain of the Israeli's! I feel the pain, terror, fear, trauma of Sabreen, Shadha, Besaan, Diana, Ranaand Dalal who live in Jabalya. I pray they are still allive !!!

I feel Sylvi's pain, her anger and her love ( she is my Palestinian partner in our work - an amazing woman from Nazareth) - I feel the fear and pain of our girls from Sderot - Tal, Yaara, Tamar, Hagar and Ravid who told us at camp that they don't run for shelter anymore because this is their life for so long...they are tired of running for shelter - "either it will hit me or miss me"....said Tal.

I feel all the girls pain and anger, confusion and fear.....last night I felt I could not cry - now I can' t stop.....what would it be like if we had organised for those children to be in that school - what is the solution GOD HELP US GET OUT OF THIS CRAZINESS........

I want to be able to stay in the energy of love and peace that I expereince with these amazingly courageous young woman - today I find it hard!!!!

Anael Harpaz
Creativity for Peace