First Steps and the Pilot in Tivon
Our first fundraising effort became Israel's most successful crowdfunding campaign to date.
It raised awareness and gave us the seed money to begin. Our pilot community in Kiryat
Tivon opened In the spring of 2020, rushed ahead of schedule due to the COVID crisis. We
hired and trained our staff and volunteers with the program already running and continue to
develop our unique model of care- that can now be upscaled and is already inspiring
systemic change.
In the Fall of 2021 we expanded our services by adding a non residential treatment program.
We’ve established income generating social businesses which contribute to the unique life
affirming and empowering atmosphere at AMEN.
Over 45 women have been served by our healing community in the course of the last two
years (some with young children) and hundreds have taken part in workshops and
courses. Many women who have gone through our program tell us they would not be
alive today without the LWWH
In order to offer treatment to the hundreds of women on our waiting list, we must move

beyond the pilot and build the full-fledged village.

Our Vision

The Land Where Women Heal: Building AMEN’s Permanent Village
AMEN’s Ecovillage will serve many more women while providing economy of scale.
Beyond that, it will realize the integrated vision of healing embedded in a vibrant community,
linking the Gynecosophy school and a range of income-generating enterprises which are
also key components of the healing process. A crucial enterprise will be retreats for women from
both Israel and abroad, coming to be inspired by the spirit and practices of feminine
empowerment, upending the pervasive culture that enables gender-based violence and
abuse.
The sooner we can complete our village the more women we can treat and the more lives
we can save. The village will also enable us to focus on environmental and financial
sustainability; and will serve as an accelerator for the social and cultural change that the next
generations deserve.

Marva Zohar

Marva Zohar is an Israeli poet, midwife and feminist activist. In her work among refugees in
Africa she promoted training of leaders as advocates for survivors of gender based violence
(GBV). In Israel, she founded the School of Gynecosophy, which trains practitioners in
integrative women’s health; and the Ohela NPO. She co-created Israel’s first protocol for
psychiatric intake and treatment of GBV survivors, and helps train psychiatric interns in this
matter.
While suffering from PTSD, Marva took refuge in psychiatric hospitals, where she met
further abuse in the guise of medical care. While she survived her own ensuing suicide
attempts, she has vowed to speak also on behalf of the many who could not – or no longer
can - speak for themselves.
Marva earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Bar Ilan University. Her award-winning,
nonfiction poetry explores representations of rape and GBV that language typically forces
into silence.
As a midwife and as a survivor, Marva believes healing from trauma can be a spiritual and
emotional rebirth. At present Marva's entire being is dedicated to the vision of AMEN -
the Land Where Women Heal as well as promoting the full-fledged village.
 

The Team