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Huge Jerusalem march for peace

We never hear these stories in the mainstream media... It's important to remind ourselves and each other that resistance DOES exist.
Today was a ray of sunshine in an otherwise bleak Middle East.

 An amazing 5,000 people, most dressed in black, turned up for today's
 events, beginning with the March of Mourning for all the victims --
 Palestinian and Israeli -- of the Occupation. Responding to the call of
the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace, people from all over the world
found their way to the vigil plaza today. When the signal came to begin,
 we were all mixed up with each other -- Israeli, Palestinian, European,
American -- and began a slow, solemn walk, in silence (mostly), with only
 a funereal cadence sounded by two women drummers at the center of this
 long procession. Although the extreme right wing staged a counter-demonstration  at the beginning of our route, their small number (about 30) and angry shouts only served to dramatize the power of our own dignified presence.

 We led with a huge banner, "The Occupation is Killing Us All", as well as
 hundreds of black hands with white lettering "Stop the Occupation", and
 scores of signs calling for peace, a state of Palestine beside the state
 of Israel, and sharing this beautiful city of Jerusalem, loved so long by
 so many. It was an unseasonably warm and balmy winter morning, and we
 were suddenly feeling hopeful and powerful marching together this way.
 Although the police were trying to keep us all walking on the sidewalk,
 soon we burst our seams and spread out into the road, blocking traffic
 along the route. And Ezra, long-time supporter of Women in Black in
Jerusalem, walked among us, handing out a thousand red roses to Women in
 Black until the roses ran out, though the women did not.

 We made our way slowly toward the broad, new plaza just outside historic
Jaffa Gate, one of the main entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem. By
 the time everyone arrived, we had filled up the plaza completely, with
 spillover inside the gate and along the roads leading up to it. Past the
 stage, participants could see as backdrop the beautiful Citadel, rising
 from the walls of the Old City, with the Valley of Gethsemane spread out
 beyond in a breathtaking view.

 The entire program was moderated in Hebrew and Arabic by Dalit Baum and
Camilia Bader-Araf, co-MCs. They acknowledged the Knesset members who had joined us for the events -- Muhammed Barake, Naomi Chazan, Zehava Galon,
 Tamar Gozansky, Anat Maor, Issam Makhoul, and Mossi Raz -- as well as the
delegations from Belgium, Canada, England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain,
 and the U.S. Marcia Freedman, former Israeli MK and long-standing Woman
 in Black, read the list of 118 locations around the world where solidarity
 events were planned for the same day (from Adelaide to Zaragoza -- see our
 website for the full list).

 Speeches opened with Shulamit Aloni, first lady of human rights in Israel
 and former government minister, comparing our struggle to end the
 occupation with the struggles led by Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther
 King, reminding us that although the task is arduous, it will inevitably

be crowned with success. She was followed by other powerful speeches --
Nurit Peled Elhanan, winner of the Sakharov Peace Prize, awarded by the
 European Parliament, and mother of Smadar, 13 years old when she was
 killed by a terrorist bomb in Jerusalem; Zahira Kamal, courageous
 Palestinian activist for peace as well as the rights of women and workers,
 who found a way to outwit the closure in order to reach Jerusalem and
 address this rally; Luisa Morgantini, irrepressible Italian member of the
 European Parliament and devoted supporter of the women's peace movement in the Middle East; Khulood Badawi, chair of the Association of Arab Students in Israel; and Vera Lichtenfels, a 17-year old Portuguese peace activist, representing youth all over the world who are working for peace.

 These speeches were eloquent and inspiring, but I myself was especially
 moved by the ceremony of torch lighting by 13 Israeli organizations who
 have shown extraordinary commitment to activism for
peace and human  rights. Each representative lit a torch about one aspect
related to their  work -- the killed, the wounded, the homes demolished,
the trees uprooted,  the children whose lives were fractured, as well as the
efforts of those  who refuse to give in to the despair, but keep on
struggling to transform  this nightmare into a vision of peace and partnership.

 These are words that one simply doesn't hear in thisregion, so publicly,  by Israelis and Palestinians together. And then we held
a concert rarely  heard in the Middle East -- a "peace happening" of
Palestinian and Israeli  performers. It opened with the Elisheva Trio -- 3
talented black Jewish  women from Dimona, singing peace songs in soul and rock arrangements.  There were readings of poetry and plays, a performance
piece, and an  amazing duo of young Palestinian rappers from Lydda/Lod
doing Arabic and  Hebrew political lyrics. Ending it all was a hopeful
reprise by the  Elisheva Trio, with many in the crowd holding hands,
swaying, and singing  together.

When the concert was over, few wanted to leave and let go of the feeling  that peace is really possible. Fortunately, we didn't really have to,  because Peace Now was holding its own optimistic rally just inside Jaffa  Gate, with Palestinians and Israelis signing a Peace Declaration and  releasing doves into the sky over the city. Palestinians and Israelis  wandered in and out the streets of the Old City trying to hold tight to  the beautiful warm thaw in the air, within this long winter of violence  and tragedy.

This evening, I watched Israeli TV to see if anything was reported about  the hope for peace that had swept through Jerusalem today.

I saw nothing  about either the Coalition of Women for Peace or the
Peace Now events,  though I did hear that the Coalition action made the
radio news several  times today. We are used to this by now, and it brought
to mind the words  of Shulamit Aloni earlier today: "Even though Israel's
'patriotic' media  seek to ignore you, there is no doubt that your voice
will be heard and  that a great many others will join your cause. You will
break through the  silence because yours is a vision of freedom, justice,
and peace."

May it come to pass. Today I feel more hopeful than I have for a long, long while.

Thank you to everyone all over the world who joined us
in solidarity  today, whether in vigils, through contributions, or in
your hearts.

 Shalom, salaam,
 Gila Svirsky
 Jerusalem