Jalaja Bonheim's Blog

For all of you who met Hasina Safi from Afghanistan at last year's Circlework Training, her courage and spirit will remain unforgettable. Now, you can see her on TV. The PBS broadcast Peace Unveiled was aired yesterday, but will be rebroadcast on public stations throughout the country today and over the next couple of days. Check
http://www.pbs.org/tv_schedules/ to find out when it's showing in your area. It's an excellent and, I might add, very disturbing documentary. Also, I believe it will...

Right now, we are hard at work preparing for the Circlework Leadership Training at Light on the Hill in Ithaca, NY. We still have more spaces if you would like to attend, and I would love to see you there. Each year, the different mixture of personalities and aspirations has made the leadership training unique and special.



If you want to learn more about the training, please visit our web site, where I discuss in detail the specific goals and aims the training has. Please forward the link ...

Yesterday, the annual Grassroots Festival started, a four-day extravaganza of music and dance, 10 000 people dancing, hanging out, and generally having a great time.

As I said to a friend, this is my religious event of the year. I passionately believe in the importance of people getting together to have a good time—the kind of good time that isn't about consuming lots of alcohol but about getting high on great music and great community.

One thing I love about Grassroots is that it doesn't...

For the past year, I have worked with Jalaja and the other amazing individuals at the Institute for Circlework. It is truly phenomenal to see the amount of support people have given to the ICW and the amount of impact we have on women around the world. I'd like to give you some updates about some current developments.

We met last night to discuss things related to our new Afghan Women's Project, which aims to raise $15,000 to bring three Afghan women here for Jalaja's Circlework training this ...

My friend Rupa Cousins sent me this wonderful article by Rabbi Ted Falcon, Ph.D., which he wrote for YES! Magazine:

In the ancient story, related in the Book of Exodus, our enslavement was so deep that we were not even fully aware of it. We had lost our identity and forgotten the fuller nature of our being; we had forgotten that we could live in any other way. Then, like now, the pain sometimes gets severe enough for us to cry out, and it was that outcry that began the process of our...

Back from the United Nations. Amazing women, powerful, committed, passionate, dedicated, articulate. And yet, every event followed the worn out old model where an expert stands at the front of the room and talks while everyone else sits in rows and listens. Other than short question and answer periods, there was no interaction or dialogue. The mind feasted while the heart went hungry.

How I yearned to hear the story of the striking black woman on my left, or the serious young Japanese woman o...

Back in the USA, but the journey continues!

Want to share with you some amazing news. The women at our West Bank retreat very much wanted the circles to continue, and clearly, Nimala is the person to lead them. Now, some general souls have donated the funds she needs to continue leading the circle for the next year.

It makes me so happy to see that when people touch the energy field that our circles create, they totally get their power and importance, and want to support them and help them thri...

The retreat in the West Bank has ended; last night we returned to Jerusalem. Without question, this was one of the most extraordinary circles I've ever witnessed. It's difficult to describe the power of the experience. However, we have gathered many photos and videos which will soon be up on our website. Hopefully, they will convey the spirit of the circle and of the women who participated better than words.

One of the resounding messages the the women gave me was that they want more circles. ...

We're in Palestine, in the West Bank. We're in the middle of the retreat, and I am just blown away by these women! One is more beautiful than the other.

Nimala Kharoufeh, who attended the Circlework Training in the US last September, has done an amazing job coordinating everything. Not only that, but I feel proud when I see what a strong, confident leader she has become. Though she is only 28 years old, she is already powerful and wise.

At first, I was concerned about the size of the group—42 w...

Since my last post I have led two more circles, each for about 30 Jewish and Arab women. Also, did a really fun radio interview. Today, we have a meeting in Haifa, two interviews, and a circle for Christian and Druze Arabs in an Arab town called Shwaram. This being Israel, even the shortest circle includes food, and what incredibly delicious food it is!

Seena Axel, Miki Raver, and Helena Cooper have been accompanying me, putting up with sleepless nights, exhaustion, and complicated travel...