Second part
Tel Aviv, Israel.- Manuela Rotstein, member of the movement Women for Peace in English Women Wage Peace He has pain painted on his face and red eyes that threaten to burst into tears.
This mother along with some of the members of Women for Peace They go every day to the Square of the Kidnapped to ask for the release of the hostages taken by Hamas in the attacks of October 7, but also united with Palestinian mothers they demand a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“We want to see the rulers thinking right now about the day after, what is going to happen, how are we going to have the initiative so that peace with the Palestinians comes out of this,” says Manuela, an Argentine-Jewish mother, who lives in Israel. .
The Women for Peace They have 50,000 followers on Facebook.
“Here right now in this square, we are a small group because only people from Tel Aviv come. “We are here every day to ask for the return of all those kidnapped.”
Manuela does not release a poster with the image of 38-year-old Itay Svirsky, who is presumed to have been kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 when they destroyed Kibbutz Be’eri. Itay had gone to visit his parents Orit and Rafi, who were murdered at the scene.
“Orit was one of us, Women for Peace, and she was with us at the Dead Sea along with the Palestinian Women of the Sun.”
Women for Peace also mourns Vivian Silver, a human rights activist who was a founding member of their group, and who was brutally murdered on October 7.
“We come for Vivian Silver, for the mother of a colleague, and for all the kidnapped people.”
Vivian Silver, was a Canadian-Israeli activist born in 1949 in Winnipeg, Canada, who was murdered during the Hamas attacks on Kibbutz Be’eri. She was remembered during her funeral for her work over decades to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Manuela says that they formed as a group after the wars to ask governments to make efforts to create initiatives for peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people.
“This year we have some members from the Palestinian side, who joined us and who call themselves the Women of the Sun“.
In the group of Mothers for Peacesays Manuela – there are Palestinians, Palestinians from the territories, Arabs, Israelis.
“There are also some mothers from Gaza who are part of our ongoing dialogue.”
Manuela says that the attack on October 7 was a very hard blow.
“We worked a lot for the people of the south, which was always an area very affected by the war, and there we had many people who were leaders of the movement like Vivian Silver.”
He says that during the first days after the Hamas attacks, they thought Vivian was kidnapped.
“His body was finally identified. “She lived in the Be’erin kibbutz where more than 100 people were murdered.”
Despite the pain and restlessness, it is possible to find peace, says Manuela.
“We receive news from our Palestinian colleagues, we remain in contact and there are enough Arab countries that are also waiting for a diplomatic solution; and that is what we want to hear from our government“.
But Manuela says that it is very difficult to know what the prime minister is doing because the conversations are secret.
“What we are experiencing is really distressing, we do not know if those kidnapped are going to be released. “We are negotiating with a group that values human life very little.”
The kidnapped – he maintains – are an instrument for them.
For the Mothers for Peacethe Israel-Hamas conflict is very complex.
“We do not have to take sides, it is not a football match, we have to solve them all together and thinking about the needs of everyone and the children of Gaza. We must keep in mind that there should not be hunger and needs there. That is a need for everyone, including the Israelites, to have a better future.”
He says the hostage capture was terrible.
“The mothers were separated from the children; children are being released while mothers and some fathers are not. It is very difficult”.
But he also said that on the other hand, mothers and citizens, who are not to blame for Gaza, are also suffering from the conflict. “It is very painful”.
Manuela says that they will continue demonstrating until the last of the kidnapped people is released.
“On Israel’s side, you will see very difficult decisions to be made, but the security of the citizens will depend on knowing that the government is there to take care of us, and help us rescue our children, if they are taken. It is important for our government to know this.”
Until all the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas are returned, the Peace Mothers will continue to demonstrate every day in Tel Aviv.
“We are here for an hour and a half every day, we will return home, we turn on the TV, we follow the news with great hope that they were released, 13, 14 people per day. “The wait has really been very distressing.”
The Plaza of the Kidnapped is converted into a mosaic of demonstrations and art expressions in favor of the liberation of the Israelis who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. Family and friends stand guard at the place.
The names of the kidnapped people and their images are everywhere, on posters, on t-shirts, in artistic installations and even on a long empty table full of plates, cutlery and chairs as a symbol of the absence of the Israelis who are kept in captivity. .
Immediately, as soon as the attacks occurred, parents, relatives and friends of those kidnapped by Hamas began to arrive every day to demonstrate for their release at Museum Square. This unprecedented demonstration forced the square to change its name and be called Plaza de los Secuestrados.
During the week of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that lasted from November 24 to December 1 with the release of some of the women and children taken hostage, the atmosphere in the Plaza of the Kidnapped was filled with hope.
The clamor is unanimous, says Manuela: bring them back home!
*This series of reports is possible thanks to a fellowship from Fuente Latina, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded and directed by Leah Soibel. It has offices in Miami and Mexico City. Fuente Latina’s mission is to remove linguistic and geographic barriers, empowering journalists and influencers to cover stories about Israel and the Middle East. For more than 11 years, Fuente Latina has awarded fellowships to more than 350 Hispanic media professionals from 12 countries. Much of the informative content generated has won awards.