Jerusalem Women Speak:
Three Women, Three Faiths, One Shared Vision

Themes for the Tour

The general theme for the Jerusalem Women Speak tour is everyday life in Israel and Palestine. Amidst increasing loss and terrible destruction of Palestinian and Israeli lives, three ordinary women will speak to American audiences about their daily lives and their efforts for peace. These women come from each of the three major faiths in Israel and Palestine: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, and find a voice for their hopes and frustrations amidst the ongoing violence as they meet each other for the first time.

The Jerusalem Women speakers are provided with an open forum, where they each may share their own compelling personal stories. Previous speakers have touched on the following topics in the context of their day-to-day lives:

Human rights
Free access to healthcare, work, education and religious worship
Cultural interactions
Psychological problems
Family relationships and visits
Interaction between different faiths
Travel and trade restrictions
Borders and the wall
Housing problems
Security – safety of family members and friends
Reasons for the ongoing violence
Hopes for peace

Special topics to be considered in this tour will also include the Gaza “Disengagement” and its aftermath and the ongoing political and humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories.

This is a critical time in the Middle East. It is more important than ever that the American media grasp this opportunity to report on the human faces of the Middle East and help to make the American public conscious of the devastating consequences of the ongoing conflict. It is also important at this time that the people of America listen to the voices of these three women who are yearning for peace.

If you would like to host the speakers at an event in your area please contact Anne Marsa, Executive Director of Partners for Peace at 202.863.2951 or email info@partnersforpeace.org.

Jerusalem Women Speak tour information

This document outlines basic information about hosting a Jerusalem Women Speak tour, including roles and responsibilities of local hosts. Please consider in detail.

A Brief History of the Jerusalem Women Speak Tour

Since 1998, Partners for Peace has sponsored fourteen speaking tours with the same general theme: “Jerusalem Women Speak: Three Women, Three Faiths, One Shared Vision.” The tours share the same format but usually feature new participants each year.

The first tour, then named, “Jerusalem Women Speak: Three Women, Three Faiths, One Shared City” was designed as a demonstration of how to package a message so that it is appealing to the media. Our success was astounding. During the 17-day tour, we visited ten cities and spoke to local, national and international media. The message of the three women reached an estimated audience of 80 million in the US and 210 million world wide (see www.peterwirth.net Jerusalem Women Speak article). Our success has been equally remarkable on succeeding tours, encountering enthusiastic audiences and receiving wide media coverage.

Tour Overview

The main idea of the program is to elaborate on the need, if peace is to be achieved, to share the small land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Inherent in the format is the opportunity for each of the three women to express their frustrations and grief regarding the ongoing violence, and to point to the reasons for that violence. The audience response is remarkable and can swing dramatically between embracing and challenging. The tour exemplifies people-to-people diplomacy at its best.

Audiences are curious to know about the personal lives and experiences of the women. Because we strive to recruit women who do not know each other and come with no governmental agenda, their voices represent the true and valid voices of a seldom-heard segment of the communities in the area of conflict. They are mothers, daughters, wives, and grandmothers – professionals, activists, teachers and homemakers - a collage of the women from the area.

The speakers’ presentations will, no doubt, include different points of view but they will also emphasize the fundamental need to share the land and work for peace. We do not anticipate debate as much as rational, passionate discussion of the tragic situation in which they find themselves. There is no editorial control by Partners for Peace over what the women say. We simply offer the team of three an opportunity to share with Americans whatever is most important to them to convey.

The goal of Partners for Peace is to promote a just and lasting peace in Israel and Palestine. This project has been our most rewarding effort in terms of creating a visible, even measurable change in public opinion. We know we have opened hearts and minds to the true nature of the conflict and we have been successful in raising public consciousness. Following the presentation, audiences are better equipped for the news stories they will read and the television clips they will see.

Advocacy with the Media

Media coverage is an essential part of the tour. We seek media coverage in the form of radio, television and print interviews in both secular and religious press, editorial board meetings and talk show formats. We ask organizers to prioritize contacting mainstream, community and college media outlets (including newspaper, magazines radio, television, etc) depending on the event. We cannot stress enough, the importance of media in our work. Media is how we reach thousands of people with this important message.

A Word on “Balance”
Partners for Peace does not package this program as a “balanced” view in that we do not invite three speakers with views ranging from extreme left to right. We are not interested in hosting a running existential battle. The program is balanced, however, in the sense that one woman from each of the three major faiths and both nationalities are represented. We are promoting voices that are all-too-seldom unheard – the voices of women living amongst violence and conflict.

Format of the tour
We have found it most workable to limit the tour to a maximum of 14-18 days, largely because of the emotional pressure on the participants. It is truly exhausting to face a different audience every few hours and go through much of the same material over and over again, encountering intense, often emotional audience responses.

We seek an "anchor" event in each community, which may be an event sponsored by a World Affairs Council, a large Rotary Club or other general interest group meeting. In addition, we seek college/university events and interfaith events (or alternatively events at churches, synagogues, and mosques). These face-to-face events should be able to generate audiences of at least 100 people. Local organizers are asked to help to make initial contacts with possible venues for events. They are also asked to aid in publicity of events (we will provide posters, brochures, and other promotional materials).

We spend one to four days in each city. Campus guest housing or hotel accommodations are requested where possible along with an honorarium, usually $3,000, though there is flexibility here.

Logistics
Each speaker is prepared to offer a 5, 10, or 15-minute presentation, followed by a question and answer session. The Executive Director Anne Marsa, will be available to introduce the speakers and moderate the question/answer period. Speakers may bring Power Point presentations or pictures to enhance their presentation. Our speakers are flexible and able to adapt to the specific needs of different events.

Questions or comments
We welcome your comments and questions. For background information on Partners for Peace, we invite you to visit our website at: www.partnersforpeace.org