Arab, Israeli mothers tour, promote peace in Mideast

NEW YORK – Nonie Darwish grew up in Gaza, the daughter of a man labeled a “martyr” after dedicating his life to organizing and carrying out attacks against Israel.

Miri Eisen was an Israeli soldier, on the front lines of the battle to defend the country from people like Darwish’s father.

These women were taught to despise each other, but now they are renouncing hatred and sharing their hope for a peaceful future. Darwish and Eisen, both mothers of three, stopped in New York on Thursday as part of a cross-country tour to promote peace in the Middle East.

“We want to inspire and give hope,” says Darwish, who lives in Los Angeles. “Sometimes it takes people to see two women, one from Israel, one Arab, standing there, speaking together. It gives hope to Arabs and Israelis. It gives the feeling that peace can happen.”

Darwish was taught at an early age to hate Jews, who she says were portrayed as evil enemies of Islam. When she was 8, her father, a leading militant, was assassinated and became a “shahid” – a symbol for resistance against Israel. Darwish and her four siblings were told to avenge their father’s death by killing Jews.

Hating Jews was loyal, says Darwish. Not hating them was treason. To speak about peace – that was a sign of weakness.

“One time I asked naively, ‘Why do we hate them?’ ” she says. “The answer was, ‘Aren’t you a good Muslim? God will torture you.’ I was petrified. As a child, I didn’t want to hate or kill. I was living with a big paradox for a long time.”

Darwish moved to the United States in 1978 and her thinking started to change. She started learning about tolerance and other religions. Her brother’s life was saved at a hospital in Jerusalem.

But she was still too scared to speak up. Until Sept. 11.

“I speak up out of respect for the 3,000 fellow Americans who lost their lives,” she says. “I speak out of love for my culture of origin – in desperate need for reform. Many believe supporting Israel is anti-Arab. But I can support Israel and still support the Arab world if our common goal is peace.”

Darwish and Eisen were paired up through the Israel Project, a nonprofit organization devoted to informing the press and public about Israel. The “Mothers for Peace” – as they are known on their tour – have known each other for only a couple of days, but they say they already feel like best friends.

Eisen, who learned the importance of peace and security early on, says she and Darwish are not speaking as politicians. They are not blaming Palestinians, and they don’t claim to have the solution to resolving the conflict. They are just two mothers who believe in openness, tolerance and peace.

“The Middle East, at the end of the day – what we see on the news and what we read are all very negative images,” Eisen says. “I think in that sense, we show a positive side of something real that is happening. By doing so, you give hope that there are better ways.”

Eisen says most Palestinians think Israelis do not want peace. They see Israel as an aggressive, militaristic society waiting to destroy them.

But that’s not true, she says.

“The only way to change this is through education,” she says, “a very big hurdle.”