Dear Friend,

You may know how former Israeli soldiers and former Palestinian fighters came together after the Second Intifada to found Combatants for Peace. Their decision to reject violence and work together became the guiding principle of our movement. You will hear more about this story soon.

But do you know the story of the women?

Long before Combatants for Peace existed, Palestinian women were leading some of the most enduring movements for nonviolent resistance. During the First Intifada, they organized neighborhood committees, kept education going under military closure, documented human rights violations, supported prisoners and their families, and held communities together in the face of occupation.

As violence escalated during the Second Intifada they continued to organize, defend human rights, accompany vulnerable communities, and stand alongside families facing home demolitions, settler violence, and military incursions. They embodied the idea that "it takes a village."

Alongside them, Israeli women challenged the occupation from within their own society. Movements such as Women in Black refused to let the occupation become normal, while MachsomWatch (Checkpoint Watch) documented abuses at military checkpoints and bore witness to the daily reality faced by Palestinians.