Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan — they are two fathers, Palestinian and Israeli respectively, who at different times lost a daughter, still a child

An interview with two fathers, a Palestinian and an Israeli, who both lost daughters in the conflict in the Holy Land, were able to meet the Pope.

Pope Francis meets with friends Bassam Aramin, who is Palestinian, and Rami Elhanan, who is Israeli, at the Vatican prior to his general audience on March 27, 2024. Both are fathers who have lost daughters amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

Two bereaved fathers, one an Israeli Jew and one a Palestinian Muslim, speak to Vatican News about their meeting with Pope Francis, who thanked them for their witness of fraternity.

Pope Francis shares an embrace with an Israeli and a Palestinian, each of whom lost a daughter, saying the two men “look beyond the enmity of war” and are now friends.

Pope Francis offered his solidarity Wednesday to Catholics in Israel and the Palestinian territories ahead of Easter, after meeting Jewish and Muslim bereaved fathers campaigning for peace.

Amid recent health concerns, pontiff praises Bassam Aramin, Rami Elhanan for the ‘friendship of two men who care about each other’ and seek peace instead of war

During one of these visits in 2017, a colleague invited Takac to go to the joint Israeli Palestinian memorial ceremony, which is held around the end of Ramadan and on the eve of Israel’s Independence Day in May each year to mourn those lost during conflict.

As director of International Relations for The Parents Circle-Families Forum, which has offices in Beit Jala on the West Bank and in Israel, Damelin has traveled to the US twice, as well as London and Italy, since the war in Gaza began.

Today, we speak with families who are striving for peace and reconciliation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Despite facing personal hardships, they hold onto hope for positive change on both sides.