Janet M. Powers, Blossoms on the Olive Tree: Israeli and Palestinian Women Working for Peace. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006. Foreword by Betty Reardon; Introduction by Elise Boulding.

Comprising a mix of academic research, oral histories, and accounts of women’s lives in various locales, the work emphasizes commonalities between Israeli and Palestinian women who as political moderates seek an end to the Israeli occupation. The last chapter calls for bringing women to the peace table as required by UN Resolution 1325.

"It is hearing the stories of real people which brings alive the dryness of statistics and the coldness of official reports. The genius and skill of Janet Powers is to enable us to share in the experiences of women from Israel and Palestine, as they struggle with all the restrictions imposed on them by the political and religious systems within which they live. With clarity and sensitivity she lets these women speak, and the honesty with which their stories are recorded will challenge all of us, and the cliches behind which we often take refuge." Rev. Clarence Musgrave, St. Andrews Church of Scotland, Jerusalem

Janet M. Powers, Professor Emeritus
Interdisciplinary Studies & Women's Studies
Gettysburg College