By: Danielle Apfel
Since the Six Day War between Israel and her neighbors, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, the Gaza Strip has been a center for the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. After 1967, the Gaza Strip remained under the control of the Israeli military, until it was traded for peace in 1994. Self-governance of the region was initiated under the Palestinian Authority (PA) through the Oslo Accords, and peace, or at least stability, was anticipated.
Since Hamas, a subset of the PA, gained de facto control of the government in 2007, the Arab-Israeli conflict has been raging in the region. Both Egypt and Israel have set up a blockade of the Strip, recognizing the danger that an unchecked Hamas government presents. Political, social, and economic differences lay on each side of the boarder, and violence and destruction continue. Though tensions remain, and violence persists, there are many who hold onto hope and optimism that peace is possible.
Moshav Netiv HaAsarah, a small community-like settlement in southern Israel, is the location of one woman’s wish for peace. Tsamaret Zamir, an Israeli woman, has lived in the shadows of the Gaza Strip crisis since it began. Having lived there with her family for the past 30 years, she is proud to stand her ground and not let the threat of violence deter her from her way of life.
As an artist, Zamir works from her home, with the wall between the Gaza Strip boarder and Israel visible through the windows of her house. After a particularly dangerous airstrike, Zamir channeled her creativity and passion for peace into a project initially for the children within her community.
She has not only begun painting the imposing grey walls with bright, colorful designs, but has also started designing small, ceramic symbols with which children, members of her community, and even any outsider, may write a wish upon it, and glue it to the wall. She finds that rather than wish for material or trivial things, children would prefer peace and an end to the fighting, Not only does this allow the community to come together and remain strengthened, but it also humanizes the conflict, making the “wall” less threatening to those who live in its shadows.
Tsamaret Zamir’s Path to Peace Project demonstrates the power that just one person can have. Since she began her project a few years ago, hundreds of people have come to support her and to listen to her story, including students and government officials, from at home and abroad. Her creations are a statement for peace in the Negev. Zamir is undeterred by the constant battle raging around her home, and continues to beautify the imposing grey walls that draw a line between peace and fear.
Zamir’s project represents the continued push for peace, despite the tragedies and destruction that has befallen her family, friends, and community. Although the Gaza Strip remains under the influence of Hamas, and is, as ever, at odds with the Israeli government, people still believe that peace is possible. The Path to Peace Project is just one example of the hope that remains; it is a bright spot in the wake of the violence and instability within the region.