Partners for Peace, a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization, is sponsoring their visit. The three women were selected because they represent ordinary citizens who are working toward peace. We are going to spend more than two weeks together. The kibbutz-born Israeli has become frustrated with the limits of municipal governance as national leaders vie to control the fate of Jerusalem. City services such as education, street cleaning and maintenance are distributed to favor the western, or Jewish, sector.
Daily living is fraught with the threat of terrorism.
We are not searching for the next bomb. We go on the buses and walk on the streets. Consensus on the city council is as elusive as peace in the region. The 31 council members represent their political parties rather than the city districts. Consequently, the same divisions that plague national policy cut to the heart of local affairs, said Shohat, who represents the far-left Meretz Party.