Press

Parents Circle in the Media

Two decades of reporting on bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families who chose reconciliation — newest first.

  1. March 2024

    Press

    Facing Easter amid war, Pope urges Holy Land Catholics not to lose hope | Crux

    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…

  2. March 2024

    Press

    Rami and Bassam: Pope Francis shared our pain | Vatican News

    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…

  3. March 2024

    Press

    Pope embraces bereaved Palestinian and Israeli fathers who found friendship amid war | Vatican News

    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…

  4. March 2024

    Press

    Pope remembers Holy Land Catholics, meets fathers bereaved by war | France 24

    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…

  5. March 2024

    Press

    Pope hosts Israeli, Palestinian fathers who both lost daughters in conflict | Times of Israel

    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…

  6. March 2024

    Press

    United in grief Israelis and Palestinians find power in empathy | Financial Review

    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…

  7. March 2024

    Press

    Healing must start with the kids: “what kind of adults are they going to become?” | World Council of Churches

    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…

  8. March 2024

    Press

    Seeking peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict | WJCT

    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…

  9. March 2024

    Press

    His Book Angered Many. But Colum McCann Still Has Hope for the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | Haaretz

    Colum McCann’s novel ‘Apeirogon,’ about the extraordinary friendship between bereaved Israeli and Palestinian fathers, is now out in Hebrew. The author isn’t sure if this is…

  10. March 2024

    Press

    Israeli-Palestinian Group Sees Reconciliation as Way Forward | VOA

    As negotiators discuss a possible cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, the Parents Circle Family Forum, a nonprofit organization made of Israelis and Palestinians who have lost…

  11. February 2024

    Press

    ‘No One Should Live Like This’: Students Hear From Israeli, Palestinian Parents | UVA Today

    About two dozen students, faculty and staff gather in Newcomb Hall Tuesday to hear from a Palestinian father and an Israeli mother who have both lost…

  12. February 2024

    Press

    Listening and Learning | Brene Brown

    Parents Circle-Families Forum, Taghyeer, and Standing Together are explicitly working to create the political will to end the occupation and create a way for the Palestinians…

  13. February 2024

    Press

    “I was 47 the first time I met Palestinians as human beings” | RTL Today

    Bassam Aramin, Palestinian, and Rami Elhanan, Israeli, are members of The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF), families whose lives have been upended due to tragedy.…

  14. February 2024

    Press

    A Glimmer of Hope Amidst Chaos: Emerging Social Order in the Israel-Hamas Conflict | BNN

    In the midst of the chaos, efforts are growing to promote peace and shared security between Israel and Hamas. Organizations such as Oasis for Peace, the…

  15. February 2024

    Press

    Examples of shared Israeli-Palestinian Actions | Foreign Policy in Focus

    The terrible war initiated in October 2023 between Israel and Hamas was the result of the failure of leaders in both camps to construct a mutually…

  16. February 2024

    Press

    The Israeli Occupation Took Our Daughters. Now It Won’t Let Us Speak | Haaretz

    This week, the Haifa municipality canceled an event marking the book launch of the Hebrew translation of “Apeirogon” by Colum McCann. The book is based on…

  17. February 2024

    Press

    Not Looking Away | Brene Brown

    In 2007, I moderated a panel at the Nobel Women’s Initiative Conference on Women, Peace, and the Middle East. The panel was made up of two…

  18. February 2024

    Press

    Haifa Is a Bastion of Israeli-Arab Coexistence. Why Does Its Mayor Yield to Incitement? | Haaretz

    Beit Hagefen, an Arab-Jewish cultural center in Haifa, is threatened by silencing and infringement of freedom of expression. The city’s legal adviser sent a letter Sunday…

  19. February 2024

    Press

    Haifa Municipality Seeks to Block Launch of a Book on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | Haaretz

    Residents have expressed their opposition to the upcoming event, which is scheduled to launch the Hebrew translation of the book that recounts the story of a…

  20. February 2024

    Press

    Georgetown hosts dialogue on Reconciliation Between Bereaved Israeli and Palestinian Families | Georgetown

    On Jan. 25, Georgetown hosted a dialogue between an Israeli mother and a Palestinian brother who both lost family members in the long-standing conflict and are…