Annual Report: Activity Summary of Coalition of Women for Peace

Militarization in Israel and the use of military force by the Israeli state continued unchecked in 2005. Despite a widely heralded “disengagement” from Gaza, no respite emerged in Israel's repression of Palestinians through direct military and other means. And yet, Israeli society shows hopeful, though limited and inconsistent, signs of receptivity towards a feminist critique of Israeli
militarization. A main instance was the surprising degree of responsiveness to the New Profile “Feminist Conscience Campaign”.
Achievements in the type of grassroots advocacy work carried out by New Profile are, however, more easily measured in terms such as new projects and steady, sustained activity. The incremental change driven by our actions is diffuse and can't be traced to New Profile work alone. Nevertheless, seven years after its foundation, New Profile broke new ground this year. A few significant developments included:
- A unique “Feminist Conscience Campaign” focused on feminist CO Idan Halili;
- An evening of reflective discussion with renowned feminist researcher Cynthia Enloe;
- Publication (in Hebrew) of: Militarism in Education, the collected proceedings of the
New Profile-initiated 2001 international conference;
- An Alternative Summer Camp for Youth, a collaborative project led by young adults;
- A first independently coordinated New Profile speaking/fundraising tour in the U.S.A.