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Peace through Commerce in Israel and Palestine
an article by Janet Hudgins
The Peace through Commerce initiative has been active since 2006 proving that business can work for peace and still claim success. The antithesis of hyper-competitive traditional corporate motives, Peace Through Commerce focuses on, "creating sustainable peace and prosperity," reaches out to the devastated Middle East and invites women there to a conference in 2013.
click on photo to enlarge
Here is part of the December newsletter that I have received from them.
"We are excited to share our plans for our upcoming Accelerating Women Entrepreneurs ("AWE") Leadership Conference based on the PTC Matrix of Peace™ peacebuilding model.
"We will be offering this conference in Israel the first week of March 2013 to a group of approximately 30 Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Druze and Christian women. Prominent Israel women Ruth Dayan and Dalia Landau (details below) will be participating.
"We invite you to be part of this exciting journey! Join us as investors on our path by investing your time, talent and treasure. Invest your time to forward this newsletter, visit our website, and "liking" us on Facebook. Invest your talent by contacting us to find how we can benefit from your unique talents! Invest your treasure in women's accelerated development by sponsoring one or more women for the Conference.
"AWE builds momentum through educating women leaders who then build momentum as role models and champions for peace and prosperity. Healthy communities are formed when women become knowledgeable about how the forces of consciousness, laws and structure, and the marketplace intersect to create sustainable peace.
"This past September two members of our board, Joyce Beck and Eileen McPhillips Portner, along with PTC advisor, Dr. Nina Jo Muse, had the honor of visiting many women in Israel and the West Bank. They visited and stayed in the homes of Israeli and Palestinian women with whom PTC has been working since 2009. They comprise a rich mixture of Druze, Christian, Jewish and Muslim women. The AWE team attended workshops with them and discussed the plan for the upcoming Conference. They were met with great interest and enthusiasm along with cultural insights and alliances for future collaborations.
"The AWE team also met with three prominent leaders, Ruth Dayan, Dalia Landau and Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb. Ruth, at 94 years of age has an amazing legacy as an entrepreneur as the founder of Maskit Design Company, which was internationally recognized and employed hundreds of Jews and Arabs. She continues to be a social activist and is also remembered as the ex-wife of General Moshe Dayan. Ruth has agreed to be a guest speaker for the Conference. Dalia is the protagonist of the book, The Lemon Tree, the founder of Open House, and a well-known social activist. You can see her vibrancy by viewing her website here. Dalia has also agreed to be a guest speaker for our workshop. The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb is an internationally acclaimed author and speaker. He is president of the DIYAR Consortium in Bethlehem and the West Bank. You can visit his website, www.diyar.ps."
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DISCUSSION
Question(s) related to this article:
How can a culture of peace be established in the Middle East?,
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LATEST READER COMMENT:
Here is another view of the Hamas/Fatah agreement, sent to CPNN by the Palestinian peace activist, Mazin Qumsiyeh:
People asked me about the latest "reconciliation" agreement between Fatah and Hamas. Most Palestinians here are skeptical of the sincerity of leadership in Fatah and Hamas and most still think these leaders are driven by narrow factional and personal interests than by interest of Palestine; noticeably absent was the popular Front For the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the largest secular faction after Fatah. Women leaders also complained about the exclusion of women voices and youth were also absent as most of those politicians are my age or older. In my talks (and I give several every week to visiting delegations and local people), I emphasize that people must wake up and push politicians to do the right thing. That is how history changes: via people especially youth and women. Of course, many wish that politicians show some leadership for positive change but we the people have to act. Meanwhile, we have an ongoing slow genocide of the Palestinian people. 7.4 million are refugees/displaced people and that number keeps growing. . ...more.
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