The Coalition of Women for Peace brings together independent women and 10 feminist peace organizations who work relentlessly for peace and justice. Founded in November 2000, after the outbreak of the Second Intifada, the Coalition today is a leading voice in the peace movement.

The Coalition is committed to the struggle to end the occupation; to the full involvement of women in peace negotiations; to an end to the excessive militarization of Israeli society; to equality, inclusion, and justice for Palestinian citizens of Israel; to equality and social justice for all inhabitants of Israel.

In addition to supporting the work of its member organizations, the Coalition carries out its own activities – mass rallies, campaigns and educational activity. It runs outreach and advocacy programs within Israeli society, and activities which involve solidarity and cooperation with Palestinian women in the occupied territories.

The Coalition has a broad international reach. It is networked with peace organizations in over 200 cities around the world, and members of the Coalition frequently represent the Israeli peace movement in international forums. On several occasions, demonstrations held in Israel have been supported by (or inspired) solidarity actions in over 150 locations worldwide, many of which were covered extensively in the media.

Recent Political Campaigns: Highlights

 "Women Against War": During the Second Lebanon war in July 2006, women activists were the first to mobilize against the war, holding daily demonstrations in Haifa and other places, organizing national protests, publishing op-eds and being interviewed in the mainstream media.

 "Stop the Siege on Gaza": In November 2006 we led a coalition of 17 Israeli organizations and more than 100 groups around the world to protest against the economic and military siege on the Gaza strip. The one month campaign included demonstrations, public events, car convoys, an on-line petition and more.

 "40 Years of Occupation is Enough!": In May and June 2007 the Coalition was central in organizing activities to protest 40 years of Israeli occupation, including the demonstration in Tel Aviv on June 9th - the international protest day "The world says no to Israeli occupation"

Long-term projects:

Re-framing Security

In Israel, the concept of "security" is a powerful one. It is used to justify all military activity and the occupation of Palestinian territories. "National Security" is a phrase invoked not just to increase military budgets, but also to silence criticism and prevent transparency. The "Re-framing Security" Project explores this term from the broadest feminist-civil perspective, thus challenging the narrow militaristic understanding of security. Security in its civil forms includes aspects such as economic security (having a job, a roof over one's head, access to health care), security in the family and the community (safety from gender-related violence, protection from crime, having one's children safe in schools), environmental security (clean tap water, clean air), etc. The project generates critical discourse through lecture series, workshops and tours for groups of formal and informal educators, young leaders, social activists and other actors for change.

Since 2006 we have organized an annual conference entitled "Security – for whom?" which challenges national priorities. In 2007, triggered by sexual violence charges against the Israeli president and against the Minister of Justice, we ran a campaign together with 12 women’s organizations in Israel on the subject of security for women from government officials who are sexual offenders.

The occupation industry research project: “Who profits from the occupation?”

In addition to various political, religious and national interests, the occupation is also fueled by corporate interests. Civilian companies and transnational corporations are increasingly involved in real estate deals, the development of settlements, the construction of fences and walls on Palestinian land, the paving of a separate road system for settlers, and the sale of equipment used for human rights violations and the repression of the civilian population. This project began in 2006 and involves systematic research about Israeli and international companies which directly profit from investments in the occupied Palestinian Territories and the Golan Heights.

After rigorous research, the results are posted on a website which provides the public in Israel and internationally with accurate information about business interests invested in maintaining the occupation. The project also serves as an information center for queries about business and corporate involvement in the occupation.

We hope this information will stimulate a candid public debate about the economic interests that constitute an inseparable part of the occupation, and influence political decisions and policies. We are also cooperating with groups abroad and in Israel who are working for corporate accountability and labor justice.

The projects` web site: www.whoprofits.org

FORA – Feminist Organizing of Russian-speaking Activists

The Russian-immigrant public in Israel, which comprises 20% of the entire population, is traditionally considered to be dominated by conservative views on many issues, from gender roles to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This prejudiced assumption ignores the complex reality of immigration. Since 2004, a group of Russian-speaking women activists in the Coalition has been leading social and political change in the Russian-speaking population and the Israeli society. They aim to promote a feminist vision which interlinks peace with socio-economic justice and gender related security .The activists run women's political empowerment groups throughout Israel, intensive weekend seminars, a social theatre group, media-training for women and more. Striving to change the Russian-language media, FORA organizes gender-mainstreaming seminars for journalists and operates the alternative web-based information center in Russian: www.perspektiva.co.il .

Supporting member organizations:

Educating for Peace and Democracy project:

The Coalition of Women for Peace is committed to capacity-building of its member organizations. In this project, we actively assist four organizations in raising and managing the funds for the projects they operate: (1) Political empowerment for young women (by Bat Shalom); (2) A program to eradicate racism between Jewish and Arab teenage girls in Israel (by Noga); (3) A Center for Legal and Social Counseling and workshops for young Palestinian-Israeli women (by TANDI); and (4) Empowerment workshops centered on peace for Mizrahi, Ethiopian and Bedouin women (by Achoti, not a member organization of the Coalition).

Organizational structure:

The Coalition of Women for Peace is a non-hierarchical organization, managed by its monthly forum which is open to all women. The monthly forum discusses activities and projects and reaches decisions by consensus. Women from the Coalition's member organizations also participate in it. The monthly forum also nominates ad-hoc committees which are responsible for developing and conducting activities. The Coalition has a board which is responsible for over-all administration and works with committees such as the finance committee, the comptroller committee, etc.

The Board (elected in July 2008): Aliya Shtrauss, Hana Zand, Orly Noy, Arabiya Mansur, Raghad Elnabilsy, Yael Ben Yefet.

The comptroller committee (elected in July 2008): Lily Traubman, Shani Werner, Samira Saraya.

The staff:

General coordinators: Lana Khaskia 050-9787894 and Eilat Maoz 050-8575729

Development Coordinator: Inna Michaeli 050-8575777

"Who profits?" project coordinator: Dalit Baum 050-8575728