Jewish and Palestinian Women: A New Bond Through
Rites
of Passage
by DeAnna L'am (Copyright 1999)
In January 1999, I held a series of RED MOON - RITES OF PASSAGE
workshops
in Israel/Palestine, my country of origin. The main workshop took
place
at Neveh Shalom/Wahat Al-Salam, the only Jewish-Palestinian
intentional
community in Israel, located 15 miles south-west of Jerusalem. 20
women
attended, about half were Palestinian and half Jewish. A similar
workshop
in Tel Aviv brought together 17 participants ranging in age from a
14-year-old
girl to a 72-year-old holocaust survivor.
Our work together revealed time and again our suppressed bond as
cycling
women. Palestinian and Jewish, young and old, we, unanimously
reclaimed
this bond as taking precedence over such artificial divides as
nationality,
religion, age, belief system and political bias, connecting us to
all women
who ever lived and ever will live on this planet, our Mother.
The women around the country, Jewish and Palestinian, seemed
ready to
lead the way towards a different kind of partnership in the Middle
East,
as daily life runs rampant with violence. The thirst for peaceful
and independent
spirituality, free of the old religious institutions, seems to
move people
in an extensive search in different directions and the women's
community
seems to be extremely ripe for leading the way.
I feel grateful in serving this wave of consciousness, which I
experience
as the awakening of the ancient Mother in the Middle East. My work
will
continue to lead me to the Middle East at least once a year, as I
feel deeply
moved to bring the Rites Of Passage work to that part of the
world. My roots,
however, are deeply planted here in Northern California, where I
have arrived
after uprooting from the Middle East. I'm aware of my role as
world-bridger
and am deeply inspired in my service.
You can help by:
1. Sponsoring one or more girls
2. Sponsoring/organizing a RED MOON workshop in your area
3. Contributing to our Travel Fund
4. Donating clothes for girls and women in the occupied
territories
in
Israel/Palestine
- ALL YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!
DeAnna L'am holds a degree from the Hebrew University in
Jerusalem
and has trained in human psychology, multi-cultural dialogue,
peacemaking
and women's spirituality. She is founder of RED MOON- RITES OF
PASSAGE and
of HONESTY- A LIVING BRIDGE BETWEEN YOUTH AND ADULTS. She is a
Labyrinth
facilitator with a travelling classical rope Labyrinth.
DeAnna is available for facilitating family or group
celebrations
of Menarche, Motherhood or Menopause and initiates
self-sustaining circles
of girls and women at a local, national and international level.
© 2000 Harry Finley. It is
illegal
to reproduce or distribute work on this Web site in any manner
or medium
without written permission of the author. Please report
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to hfinley@mum.org