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w w w . h a a r e t z d a i l y . c o m
Breaking a cultural taboo, war widows join the anti-war protest
For the first time in the history of anti-war protests in Israel, a group of war
widows is
calling for an end to the bloodshed. The group was started by Ra'aya Rotem, whose
husband, paratrooper Arik Kolan, fell in the Yom Kippur War at the age of 30. The
group's first public move will the publication of an advertisement under the banner
"No More."
The advertising campaign was preceded by deliberations among the group's
members over the right of the widows to speak in the name of bereavement and
loss. "It's not easy for us to use our private grief as leverage, but at these times
our
voice must be heard. As those who have lost, we must try and prevent further loss,"
says a letter to be published together with the advertisement.
The widows' initiative marks a further change in the nature of the protest movement
in Israel. Since the Lebanese war, several of the taboos that had characterized the
protest scene have been smashed: During Israel's presence in Lebanon, mothers
spoke out for the first time against the war, as parents, an initiative that later gave
birth to a women's movement on both the right and the left that did not hesitate to
make the "feminine voice" heard. Later, the taboo on using bereavement for political
purposes was also lifted when a pro-peace forum of bereaved parents was founded
by bereaved father Yitzhak Frankenthal, flanked by an organization of victims of
terror attacks on the right.
Now, for the first time, the widows have joined the fray. "Bereavement is used all the
time anyway," says Rotem, "whether by the right dancing on blood or by professional
organizations that take care of the welfare of widows, orphans or bereaved parents.
We use bereavement to get discount dental care, so now we're recruiting it for a
battle for our lives."
Even though Rotem is a veteran left-wing activist, the new initiative has no political
affiliation whatsoever. The advertisement will be financed privately by the
signatories.
The wording of the petition is intentionally vague in its political leanings, in order
to
attract as wide as possible spectrum of widows to the group. "In these days of blood,
violence and destruction, when women from both sides are widowed and children are
orphaned, we call for an end to the cycle of bereavement. The control over another
people is leading to unnecessary casualties on both sides and endangering our lives
and the moral fabric of Israeli society," the advertisement says. However, even this
version caused mixed reactions and one of the widows who had agreed to sign the
petition withdrew her support because of the mention of "control over another
people."
By Lily Galili
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