As a member of WILPF, I've been giving support to the Peace Women (www.peacewomen.org) who are doing this sort of work:

ISRAELI & PALESTINIAN WOMEN CALL ON THE "QUARTET" TO CREATE AN INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF WOMEN PEACE ACTIVISTS

Equality Now FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alia Levine, Equality Now Campaign Director (212) 586-0906, alevine@equalitynow.org

NEW YORK, August 22 - This week, Palestinian Maha Abu-Dayyeh Shamas and Israeli Terry Greenblatt, on behalf of Israeli and Palestinan women's peace organizations, wrote to members of the so-called "Quartet," calling on them to recognize the vital role of women in the resolution of the current conflict in the Middle East. Their letter, forwarded to the Quartet by Equality Now, proposed that a commission of women peace activists from Palestine, Israel, and the international community be created to make recommendations on the peace process. The letter also called for the establishment of an international protective presence in the area. The letter to the Quartet follows a meeting held in May with the United Nations Security Council, initiated by Equality Now. Ms. Abu-Dayyeh Shamas and Ms. Greenblatt jointly addressed the Security Council, calling for the integration of women and civil society into the peace process and urging the immediate deployment of an international peacekeeping force to the region.

This was the first opportunity the Security Council had had to hear the views of women from the region. Equality Now has forwarded a copy of Ms. Abu-Dayehh Shamas' and Ms. Greenblatt's letter to all members of the Security Council, as well as the foreign ministers of the European Union. Equality Now, along with Ms. Abu-Dayyeh Shamas and Ms. Greenblatt, is urging the Quartet to rise to the challenge of creating a means through which women can contribute formally and integrally to the Middle East conflict resolution efforts underway in the international community. Equality Now believes that these women can help create a new path towards an effective resolution of the crisis in the Middle East and will continue to work to get the voices of Palestinian and Israeli women heard.

This initiative is part of an ongoing effort to bring meaning to Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security, adopted in October 2000. Resolution 1325 affirms the importance of equal participation and the full involvement of women in all efforts in the maintenance of peace. "In the face of the high cost to life, and the concern of even worse scenarios of blood letting and destruction, we cannot afford to waste any more time, or any more lives. The absence of political will has kept the Middle East lingering too long in a situation of perpetual fear and conflict. - Maha Abu-Dayyeh Shamas "You need us because we women are willing to sit together on the same side of the table and together look at our complex joint history. We keep authentic and productive dialogue moving forward, even as the violence escalates and both sides continue to terrorize one another." -Terry Greenblatt Maha Abu-Dayyeh Shamas is the director of Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling, a Palestinian organization in East Jerusalem. She is also on the Board of The Jerusalem Center for Women. Terry Greenblatt is the director of Bat Shalom, an Israeli women's peace organization. Bat Shalom, together with The Jerusalem Center for Women, a Palestinian women's peace organization, comprise The Jerusalem Link, an organization of Israeli and Palestinian women working for peace.