As I was researching stands/statements that were issued by various organizations
on Gaza, I read the following letter by Kavita Ramdas. Kavita is the president
of Global Fund for Women and was the keynote speaker for the global health
conference at the UW a few years ago. I just want to share her letter with you.

As I am writing to you, there is breaking news on Al Jazeera that Lebanon has
just fired rockets into Israel. I hope this won't create another war front

Hope to see many of you at the rally by the HUB on main campus at noon today.

Amineh



Dear Friends!

As I write, fighting rages on in Gaza. We call upon the Israeli government,
Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and their respective allies to stop: stop the
statements essentially condoning the status quo, stop the rockets, missiles, and
the carnage - now. We call upon the United Nations and political leaders in the
U.S., Europe and the Middle East, to demand that the warring factions
immediately end hostilities, no pre-conditions. Precious lives - not Israeli or
Palestinian - simply human lives - are at stake and they matter. They always
have.

The Israeli/Palestinian conflict does not lend itself to easy solutions or
simple analysis. The issues cannot be neatly compartmentalized; passions run
high, distrust runs deep. Political leaders in Israel and Palestine are quick to
claim that they seek peace, yet their actions suggest otherwise. This latest
chapter builds on an increasingly asymmetrical and unequal conflict between the
government of Israel and the people of Gaza, who today live in a no-man's land
that has neither the status of an independent state, nor the recognition of the
world community.

The Israeli military air attacks on Gaza have exacerbated what the United
Nations calls a “humanitarian crisis of significant proportions”. The fact that
collective punishment of civilians is still happening around the world in the
21st century is appalling. That it continues under the watch of a world
community that has promised more than once, “never again” is even more so.

The violence of the past few days has already claimed over 400 lives and injured
and maimed more than 2000 most of whom are civilian residents of Gaza, including
women and children. They are caught in an impossible situation over which they
have no control and one that threatens their fundamental right to live in peace.

We have said it before and will say it again: when governments and
non-governmental actors choose military action as their primary response to
conflict, women and children suffer most. As the backbone of their communities,
women around the world still bear primary responsibility for feeding and caring
for the family, tending to the sick and providing a stable environment.
Performing such tasks under conditions of war can be and often is, as dangerous
as being a soldier on the front lines. Worse, women can be trapped in their
homes or bomb shelters unable to provide for their families—so children go
hungry, the sick get sicker, communities suffer.

At the Global Fund for Women, we hold fast to the prospect of new, possibly more
enlightened leadership. Few of us were naïve enough to believe that violence
would magically end; the recent massacres in the DRC and the November attacks in
Mumbai, India were stark reminders of the deadly sway of militarism. Yet we held
out some hope that with the right degree of political will and commitment from
the international community, warring factions might consider coming to the
negotiating table once more; putting people and peace first, instead of money
and power. Clearly, we are still far from that ideal.

Yet, it was with a sense of hope that I ended my phone exchange with Majeda Al
Saqqa, a grantee partner and advisor based in Gaza, who continues to work for
peace; even as bombs fell around her. I have hope because of the Coalition of
Women for Peace, a network of Israeli women’s groups that has already issued a
strong statement condemning the current violence. Their resoluteness reminds me
of the courage and resilience demonstrated daily by women who face such
situations around the world.

Perhaps, Gaza is our clarion call: to dismantle militarism as the dominant
ideology in world politics; to require Israel to comply with UN resolutions
regarding the status of the Palestinians, to hold the UN to its commitments to
expand peacekeeping forces and negotiating teams to include more women; and to
ensure that women can take the lead in building a lasting peace.

The Global Fund for Women intends to be there for Majeda and the thousands of
women like her around the world who face injustice, fear, discrimination,
occupation, and violence. We urge the world community, including governments in
the region, their powerful allies in the Global North, and the United Nations to
stand with us. The women of the world deserve peace now.

In Solidarity,

Kavita N.Ramdas
President & CEO