Women in Black Conference, Jerusalem, August 2005

To Women in Black, and like-minded women, all over the
world:


The 13th International Conference of Women in Black
will take place in Jerusalem at the end of August 2005
(probably 4-5 days during the last week of August).
Most of the conference sessions will be held in
Jerusalem. Part of the conference program will
include visits to Palestinian cities and towns to
learn about the tragedy of occupation (the infamous
separation wall, the checkpoints, etc.) and also in
order to demonstrate our opposition to the occupation
and all its attendant violence.



The conference is being held in Israel/Palestine at
the request of the participants of the previous Women
in Black conference held in Italy in August 2003. (We
also held one of the international conferences in
Jerusalem in Dec-Jan 1994-95).



We are in close touch and consulting with Luisa
Morgantini and other women who organized the previous
conference, as well as members of Women in Black
vigils in many other countries, to ensure that the
conference reflects as broad a spectrum of our
concerns as possible. The conference will not deal
only with the Israeli-Palestine conflict, but with the
broader issues of women, war, and peace-making. We
will be inviting women to share with us your thoughts
about the proposed theme when we send it out, and in
general to tell us your opinions and preferences.



The conflict in the Middle East must be solved by both
sides together, Israel and Palestine, and therefore it
would be wrong for only Israeli women to be organizing
this conference. However, since there is no movement
of Women in Black in Palestine, and since the Israeli
army prevents us from entering each other's areas
(only internationals are allowed to cross), there are
great difficulties in trying to plan this jointly.
Nevertheless, Women in Black of Israel are committed
to involving Palestinian women in planning and
implementing the conference. This partnership is a
priority for us, and we shall do our best to make it
possible for Palestinian women to plan, attend, and
have their voices fully heard at the conference. We
shall also be asking Palestinian women to conduct the
fact-finding mission when the internationals cross
into the occupied territories.



We are painfully aware that some of the most
courageous Women in Black in the world have been
banned by the Israeli authorities from entering this
region because of their previous human rights work in
Palestine. Others would like to attend, but cannot
afford to come. We deeply regret this, and will make
every effort through the use of modern technology to
make the deliberations accessible to our sisters who
cannot attend.



We are also determined to bring to this conference as
many activist women as possible from distant regions
of conflict - in Colombia, Afghanistan, Iraq, some
countries of Africa, etc. - so they can enrich us with
their experiences and take from us the power of our
solidarity. To that end, we are issuing a call to
Women in Black from privileged countries everywhere:
You can make a major contribution to our common
efforts for a peaceful world by sponsoring the costs
of participation of women from these regions. We call
upon vigils of Women in Black throughout the world to
take up collections to make possible the participation
of these women. More about this, too, in coming
communications.



We in Israeli Women in Black know that there has been
concern about the conference - where, when, who is
organizing, when will information be available. We
would like to explain that the delay is directly
related to our commitment to maximize cooperation with
Palestinian women. Organizing a conference of this
magnitude is always a complex undertaking, and trying
to do it across lines of conflict and inequality makes
it doubly difficult. We ask for your understanding;
we are determined not to sacrifice good process for
the sake of rapid decisions. This will make planning
a much more arduous effort, but the product will
undoubtedly be richer, more egalitarian, more
feminist, and more powerful for everyone.



So please bear with us about the details. We have
opened a communication line where Johanna Alberti, a
volunteer from the UK who has stood at Jerusalem Women
in Black for several months, will be responding to
your questions.



Our address for purposes of this conference:
wib2005 [at] netvision.net.il



We would love to have as many of you as possible with
us this August.



Women in Black Organizing Committee

WIB 2005