Oct 23, 2002 Campus group wears black in protest of
Middle East violence

By Jessica Billingsley For The Diamondback

Each Friday, the Women in Black stand in a single row in
front of Stamp Student Union. The group's members - both
men and women - quietly stand near the front entrance to
the union, breaking their silence only to answer
occasional questions from passers-by. Dressed in black,
they hold signs with messages like "We condemn acts of
violence against civilian populations," and "We refuse to
be enemies."

This vigil, like others organized by Women in Black, is a
non-violent protest of military mobilization in Israel.
Through exhibitions of solidarity between Palestinians
and Jews, Women in Black said they hope to call for an
end to the violence in Israel and Palestine.

The international Women in Black peace movement was born
in Israel in January 1988, founded by a small group of
Israeli women. Once a week, at the same hour, the women
stood at a busy intersection dressed in black clothing,
holding a sign that read "Stop the Occupation."

In a matter of months, the idea spread throughout Israel,
eventually including participation by men. "Solidarity
vigils" sprang up in Australia, Canada, across Europe and
in the United States. Today, Women in Black groups around
the world protest a wide range of issues dealing with
violence locally and internationally.

Still, the core of the movement remains focused on
searching for an end to violence in the Middle East, and
it is this issue that the College Park chapter of Women
in Black has chosen to concentrate on. But it is not
their concern for this issue that sets the Women in Black
apart from other peace activists. The Women in Black
movement at the university was born when its "founding
mothers," Sarah Braunstien, Temima Fruchter, Michelle
Kay, Aviva Kutnick, Karri Plotin and Ariel Vegosen,
recognized the need for an impartial peace forum.

"It really stemmed out of a need to express our feelings
on the conflict in Israel and Palestine," said Vegosen, a
senior journalism major.

The group does not formally recruit members, hold
meetings or elect officers.

In its search for middle ground, Women in Black stress
that the movement is not about solving the conflict.

"We don't have a solution," said Braunstien, a sophomore
English and women's studies major, "It's about ending
human rights violations."

Members describe Women in Black as a mechanism by which
people can stand for peace and human rights. Participants
symbolically define the core values of the movement: They
remain non-violent and silent to allow people to make
their own decisions about issues and at the same time
wear black in mourning for victims of violence.

The university branch of the Women in Black movement does
not align itself with a political party, nor does it
support candidates or specific issues. While Vegosen and
Braunstien acknowledge that some members belong to other
groups, they said they believe the singular focus of
Women in Black makes it more powerful since members can
be united in the struggle for peace while holding varying
personal beliefs.

But member Sarah Krones, a sophomore environmental
science major, admits affiliations can be "difficult to
separate."

Members agreed the organization's success is hard to
measure. Vegosen said the movement's campus presence has
certainly served to educate the community and even bring
in new members.

"Seeing women - and men - dressed in black, being
powerful, makes people think," Braunstien said.

Members said the group has made a much larger impact
worldwide, where people in other countries have more
power to resist situations and activists have a greater
effect on politics than in the United States. The
ground-breaking significance of people of different
backgrounds uniting for the cause of peace creates an
impact in Israel, members said.

While individuals have personal reasons for participating
in the movement, they said they are united in one goal.
"We want to show people [what is happening in Israel] É
to raise awareness," Vegosen said.