The Nobel Peace Laureate moderated a powerful conversation on Israeli-Palestinian women’s partnership and peace efforts in the Middle East.
BY INSTITUTE STAFF
Executive Director Leymah Gbowee led a panel discussion with peace activists Yael Admi, co-founder of Women Wage Peace, and Reem Al-Hajajra, director of Women of the Sun.
Credit: Clinton Global Initiative
The 2024 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting focused squarely on questions of democracy, community action, and institution-building in pursuit of a more equitable future. Held in New York on September 23-24 during the United Nations General Assembly, the event featured stories from near and far, centering questions of “what works?” and sustainable solutions. Racial equity, gender justice, reimaging funding and philanthropy, and combatting humanitarian crises and climate change were core themes, with speakers including heads of state, leaders of advocacy organizations, acclaimed journalists, and trailblazing activists.
Caption: Executive Director Leymah Gbowee at the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 Annual Meeting
Credit: Credit: Clinton Global Initiative
Institute Executive Director and Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee moderated a keynote panel during the session, “Look Around.” This session focused on the power of partnerships and community-building anchored in a shared vision for a better future that spanned geography, institutions, industries, and issue areas. The panel followed a main stage announcement by First Lady Jill Biden of a new $500 million investment for women’s health research.
Ms. Gbowee moderated the panel discussion with peace activists Yael Admi, co-founder of Women Wage Peace, and Reem Al-Hajajra, director of Women of the Sun. Women Wage Peace is a grassroots peace movement that works toward a non-violent, respectful, and mutually accepted solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and advocates for women’s inclusion in peace negotiation processes. Women of the Sun is a Palestinian organization advocating for safety, freedom, and peace, and advocates for women’s inclusion in political and economic decision-making.
Together, Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun were nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.
The two organizations have worked together closely for more than a decade, including on the “Mother’s Call,” which states: “We, Palestinian and Israeli women from all walks of life, are united in the human desire for a future of peace, freedom, equality, rights, and security for our children and the next generations.”
At the Clinton Global Initiative, the women spoke movingly about their years of unlikely partnership and the lessons learned from this community-led peace work. In closing, Ms. Gbowee reflected: “It’s not that women are more peaceful, but we can build empathy, we can build trust, and we can bring the human element to the table, and that is what needed in a divided world.”