Shalom From Jerusalem

My name is Chaya Gross and I have been living in Jerusalem for more than half my life. I moved here from Canada shortly after I married and now have six grown children. I would like to thank Kelly for establishing this website because I too have been dreaming of a global community of women! This is an amazing venue for creating a voice for women from all over the world. I am sure that together we can help to improve the situation for those women less fortunate than we are, especially those that don’t have even basic human rights!

We are living in a very exciting time where just this past week a 17 year old Pakistani young woman won the Nobel Peace Prize. Malala speaks on behalf of all the children she is fighting for, so they can receive basic education to empower themselves each and every day of their lives. This award is clearly a sign of the changing times.

In Jerusalem we just finished the holiday of Sukkot, also called Tabernacles, and it was so inspiring to see people visiting from all over the world. Unfortunately women in Israel aren’t always seen in the best possible light, but I am hopeful as women are more sensitive to the challenges we face daily in trying to bring true peace to this region. I truly believe peace begins with women becoming more empowered in the Muslim world and we must all come together help them to find their voice.

Chaya Gross