Robi Damelin and Layla Alsheikh, who each lost a son in the decades’ long conflict, are involved with Parents Circle, a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization made up of more than 700 bereaved families.

It is natural during war for opposing forces to hate each other whether they are combatants or not. But there are always exceptions – people who realize that war and its accompanying traumas seldom offer positive solutions

In the face of deep-seated conflict, particularly one as longstanding and bitter as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many would assume that reconciliation is a distant hope, if not entirely impossible. But there exists a beacon of hope in the form of the Parents Circle.

It’s one thing for Jews and Palestinians who have lost loved ones at each other’s hands to come together and seek a path to peace when things are relatively quiet, but it’s a much more difficult exercise during wartime.

“When you lose a child, at the same time, you also lose your fear. You no longer fear anything.”

The man has the right to defend himself, not to occupy, says Palestinian Basam Aramin, a Muslim and a Peace activist in the Peace Fighters Movement , the main character in two documentaries and a novel.

This week, we hear from our dear friend Robi Damelin, who is a peacemaker, internationally renowned speaker, and mother.

It would be a good idea to award the prize to an organization or person who, despite current developments, is working towards understanding between Israelis and Palestinians.

Amid the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Parent Circle NGO unites bereaved families from both sides, fostering reconciliation through shared grief.

Magen Inon’s world turned upside down when both his parents were killed by Hamas in the horrific October 7 attack. Now, he’s focused on changing reality and calling for an imminent ceasefire.