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Why a group of Orthodox women flew to Belfast to discuss peace

TJI Pick
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Published: 8 February 2018

Last updated: 4 March 2024

THE TRIP WAS part of a wider project in which the organisation Search for Common Ground arranged intermittent meetings within Israel over the course of a year for public figures within religious society. Before this project, many of us – myself included – did not think of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as connected with our public role.

Taking part in a project focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was new to us. As Israeli citizens we had of course been influenced by the conflict – and we all had opinions about it – but it was not central to our public activity.

This was not only because we were too busy doing other important things. In addition, for decades the peace process discourse positioned the religious population as an obstacle to reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace.

The Oslo Accords was put together by secular left-wing men with a particular worldview, and they didn’t take religious sensibilities into account. Moreover, for the women among us, there were even greater barriers to overcome. There was the well-known gender barrier, which has made it harder for women to take part in the diplomatic sphere.

And as Orthodox women in the National-Religious camp in Israel, each of us had made a long journey to being considered a ‘religious leader’ in a community that is still carefully defining the legitimacy of such religious leadership.

For five intense days in Belfast we met with a series of politicians, teachers, former convicted terrorists, priests, policemen, social activists, youngsters, and victims of terror attacks. Even now, several months later, I have not finished processing all the information and experiences. But I have some preliminary thoughts.

FULL STORY From Israel to Northern Ireland (Fathom)

Photo: The Peace Wall, Cupar Way, Northern Ireland (David Dixon/Creative Commons Licence)

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