There are moments and experiences in life that you simply have to be part of and feel in order to truly understand them.
Still, I'll try to put into words what the past week in Greece meant to me, as one of the accompanying mothers at the Israeli-Palestinian youth camp of the Parents Circle – Families Forum.
Surrounded by the lush green mountains of northern Greece, with cherry and plum trees all around us, we found the kind of distance from the constant noise back home that we so desperately needed. In that space, something happened that simply cannot happen at home: a genuine human encounter, between equals.
If you had looked at the young people from the outside, you would never have guessed where each one came from. You would have seen teenagers laughing, playing backgammon, dancing, jumping into the pool, hiking, and sharing meals together. It was remarkable to discover how similar their dreams, hobbies, and simple longing for peace and quiet truly are.
But this was not just a vacation. It was a profound time of listening—to pain, anger, confusion, and frustration over the unbearable reality faced by young people who were born into two nations locked in a decades-long conflict.
And there I was, one of four mothers – from Jenin, Or Yehuda, Beit Sahour, and Emek HaMaayanot – cooking together in a Greek kitchen: maqluba, falafel, challah for Shabbat, and knafeh. Chopping and laughing, slicing and shedding tears, stirring and kneading, while listening to one another.
I came away with a renewed understanding that listening is at the heart of everything. Listening does not mean agreeing. It means opening your heart, showing respect, and giving another person the space to say what is on their mind, even when it is difficult or uncomfortable to hear. Listening is the only climate in which compassion, love, and mutual respect can truly grow.
It is hard to put into words what it feels like to be there. To see it, hear it, taste it, and experience it up close.
I truly believe that everyone who was there returns home a different person the day after: kinder, more humane, more empathetic, and more aware.
Our camp was called "The Summer of the Day After”, and my wish for all of us is that these experiences become the signpost and the compass for every single day of the day after. I hope that more and more people will join this path, and that together we will build a more compassionate humanity and a future of peace in our country.
My deepest thanks to the Parents Circle – Families Forum for making this extraordinary and essential experience possible.
Special thanks to Ayelet and Nadine, our Co-Directors; to Mohammad and Guy for leading the camp with dedication and professionalism; to Ahmad, Mustafa, our wonderful translators, and the entire team of facilitators and logistics staff, who worked around the clock to make all of this happen.
And finally, thank you to my father, Gil Alexander, a Parents Circle member and Board Member, a compassionate listener, a lover and pursuer of peace, who had the courage to suggest that his grandson join the camp—and thanks to him, I joined as well.
Yael Lehman, Camp Mother
