What’s New

On May 10th, the Parents Circle-Families Forum and our friends at Combatants For Peace held the 11th Annual Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony. The ceremony comes to remind us that war is not an act of fate but one of human choice. On this particularly difficult day we called upon both sides to acknowledge the pain and the aspirations of those … Continue reading 2016 Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony

The Parents Circle approaches fostering reconciliation in many ways. We want to share with you a look at a few of our recent achievements: Second Annual Parallel Narrative Experience Alumni Conference On Friday, March 4th, 130 Palestinians and Israelis gathered at Everest Hotel in Beit Jala for the second annual Parallel Narrative Experience (PNE) Alumni Conference, … Continue reading Reconciliation News and Noteworthy

On this evening we all gather – Israelis and Palestinians – to remember the victims of violence on both sides, and to remind everyone that war is not an act of fate. The recent period in our region is a period of violence, tension and suffering for both people, and many additional families have already … Continue reading Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony, 10 May 2016

American Friends introduces you to the Israeli and Palestinian Board Chairs of the Parents Circle-Families Forum. Both Wajeeh Tumaizee and Yael Admi lost brothers to the violence in Israel and Palestine, and both have dedicated their time and leadership to the Parents Circle and its mission.        

A Palestinian Takes A Different Road In His Fight Hear and read from Bassam Aramin, the Parents Circle’s Palestinian spokesperson, about his youth in Palestine, and how his time in an Israeli prison and the loss of his daughter Abir to the conflict caused a radical change in his heart, from hatred to peace. From … Continue reading NPR Interview with the Parents Circle’s Bassam Aramin

Congratulations to the Parents Circle’s Israeli spokesperson, Robi Damelin! Robi was honored yesterday at SXSW’s Dewey Winburne Community Service Awards ceremony for her continued and brave work in peacebuilding and reconciliation in Israel and Palestine. From the SXSW webpage for the awards: Dewey Winburne was one of the original co-founders of the SXSW Interactive Festival, … Continue reading PCFF’s Robi Damelin Receives Dewey Award

A short film that was made by students in Nesher high-school about PCFF members – Muhammad Al-Bau and Iris Segev. The students won the 2014 Haifa film festival 1st place award for high school students.

Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate the work of the bereaved Palestinian and Israeli women of the Parents Circle and their personal journeys towards reconciliation. Last summer, the American Friends of the Parents Circle successfully raised funds that went towards training 45 Israeli and Palestinian women to become stronger leaders for peace. The trainings … Continue reading In Honor of International Women’s Day

We’d like to start 2016 by sharing some of the moving personal stories of the members of the Parents Circle. Each month we’ll showcase another Israeli and Palestinian who have lost a loved one to the conflict and chosen the path of reconciliation rather than revenge. In this month’s newsletter, we showcase Arab and Yigal.

By Robi Damelin What makes you think that the tears on a bereaved, Palestinian mother’s pillow are a different color than those of a grieving Israeli mother? What makes you think that there cannot be any mother whose suffering is greater than an Israeli mother’s? All mothers who have lost their beloved children share the … Continue reading Our Tears Are the Same Color