Courage, freedom, action, support, and education are the guiding principles of Women United For Peace, a non-political collective formed in the wake of the events of October 7, 2023, to support Israel. The committee is led by six exceptional women from diverse backgrounds: Jessica, Alexandra, Joy, Sandra, Caroline, and Karine. The collective has already organized around fifteen actions and rallies, raising significant funds for Jewish organizations. Determined to fully mobilize for the release of hostages and provide sustained support for the IDF, hundreds of women are working daily to bring light and hope."We have been in action and fighting since the beginning," says Joy Jaoui, a member of the committee. The collective supports associations such as CRIF, Wizo, FSJU, Keren Hayessod and KKL, which then send funds and equipment to Israel to help the army and families affected by the tragedy.
When war broke out on October 7, Joy Jaoui, a criminal lawyer and mother of three, wanted to give new meaning to her life. Her youngest daughter had just started kindergarten and she wanted to leave her profession behind to devote herself to various projects that inspired her. Coming from an Ashkenazi Jewish maternal family from Germany, where some of her relatives still live, Joy would follow in the footsteps of her grandmother, who died four years ago and who was notably president of Wizo in Munich and very active in the Jewish community.
"My grandmother was a Holocaust survivor and always kept the faith, she was a light, in fact she dressed in white. She was an infinite source of inspiration for me. On October 8, one of my friends who lives in London created a WhatsApp group in English with her Jewish acquaintances from all over the world to share what was happening in Israel and the group grew a lot. I had the idea of creating one in French and getting involved right away, I wanted to feel useful," Joy Jaoui, a member of the Women United For Peace committee, told Itonnews.
The WhatsApp group "Beautiful Jewish Women" (later renamed "Women United For Peace") quickly grew to a considerable size and now has no fewer than 800 members and more than 10,000 followers on Instagram. This is the birth of the collective.
"Thanks to the help of other collectives, we immediately printed the photos of the hostages and stuck them up in the streets of Paris. We wanted to have a direct impact and reach people, but unfortunately, so far we have not received enough reactions from non-Jews, who remain too silent. We are continuing anyway, because it can make people think, we believe in the repercussions, good will inevitably prevail," says Joy Jaoui.
One of their first significant actions was creating a "hostage table" at Trocadéro, inspired by an installation in Tel Aviv. "We created the first hostage table in Paris without asking anyone, it was unique and very moving, we also displayed photos of the hostages and that's when our movement got bigger," Joy explains with emotion.
"Our goal is to raise as much money as possible for Jewish associations, to find venues and sponsors and thus send money to Israel. For example, for the association of French friends of the IDF rescue unit 669, we raised 100,000 euros in one evening. The diaspora plays a crucial role, we are complementary to the State of Israel," says Joy.
Women United For Peace has no legal or banking existence, in order to expand their freedom of choice of actions and events. With dedication and passion, the women of the collective work hard in favor of Israel. Joy reveals that she wants to meet people, and fight against terrorism from action to action to show that "the only way to contribute to the establishment of a better world is to help Israel".
The women of Women United For Peace write and co-sign platforms and they were also invited to participate in the first "conferences to fight anti-Semitism" which took place on May 6, 2024.
Meaningful actions
Since the beginning of the war, Women United For Peace has set up many actions that have had a strong impact, in the presence of distinguished guests, including the families of hostages who were received in Paris.
On December 29, 2023, the viral action entitled "Silence on rape", brought together more than 300 famous or anonymous women to denounce the inaction of the Red Cross and NGOs in the face of the fate of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in inhumane conditions. In addition, on January 15, 2024, "We will dance again" brought together again more than 300 women around an immersive dance, in tribute to the festival-goers coldly murdered by Hamas in Nova on October 7. The victory of life over death.
The women danced, accompanied by their godmothers Eliette Abecassis and Rachel Khan, raising more than 57,000 euros in donations, which were donated to the association Sauveteurs Sans Frontières. This action notably made it possible to extend the operation of the Therapeutic Ambulance Farm by more than two months, which provides psychological care to children evacuated from kibbutzim.
"The girls needed to relax, we laughed, we danced and we cried like crazy, we were blessed by the presence of Rachel and Eliette, who read beautiful texts, it was a timeless moment," recalls Joy, who does not forget to mention the meeting in June with Mia Shem, an ex-Hamas hostage, freed on November 30 as part of a truce agreement, "an extremely symbolic evening for Women United For Peace."
Facing reality on the ground
Last March, Women United For Peace made a four-day trip to Israel. A short appearance, very rich in meetings, which gave 30 women the opportunity to experience the daily life of a country at war, by visiting the associations that receive donations in Israel, including Kibbutz Erez and SSF. The participants were also received at the Knesset.
Last week, Women United For Peace privatized the Shoah Memorial in Paris for a special event around the issue of genocide while on September 25, they are organizing an action in support of the FSJU in the presence of Israeli singer Eden Golan, candidate for Eurovision 2024.
In October, two events are planned to mark the one-year anniversary of the war in Israel. On October 6, all Jewish groups and associations will unite around the KKL for a giant "I am standing" rally and on the evening of October 7, a rally will take place with the CRIF.
"When the war is over, we will continue to raise funds for Israel. We must not let ourselves be defeated and thank each day for having such a magnificent people. I sincerely hope that we will no longer fall into divisions in front of our enemies, because that is giving them what they want," concluded Joy Jaoui.
To follow the actions of Women United For Peace: https://wufp.org/
Caroline Haïat
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