“What a model for the rest of us, for the rest of the planet, of how we can resolve conflicts.” –Richard Gere The 16th Annual Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony is tomorrow! Join us– register now to attend. Co-hosted by Combatants for Peace and Parents Circle – Families Forum, our online Ceremony brings Palestinians and … Continue reading Stand for peace tomorrow
Webinar Recording available Asking the Hard Questions Preparing for the Joint Memorial Day Ceremony https://youtu.be/p_xj25VTllo Get a behind the scenes look into the challenging questions and sensitivities that go into putting together the Joint Memorial Day Ceremony. We’ll ask our Parents Circle members and Combatants for Peace activists the burning issues they face when organizing … Continue reading WEBINAR — Asking the Hard Questions: Preparing for the Joint Memorial Day Ceremony
https://youtu.be/r-ZMFR84Z04 “I choose to dedicate this flower to every bereaved mother that has lost her child.”–Muna Abu Sarah, bereaved Palestinian mother of Khaled To mark International Women’s Day, bereaved Israeli and Palestinian women created a book of pressed flowers of hope for U.S. VP Kamala Harris to commemorate the loss of their 24 children, sisters, … Continue reading Flowers of Hope on International Women’s Day
Meet Israeli, Itai Horowitz and Palestinian, Aisha Alfaris, the Parents Circle’s Board of Directors Chairperson and Vice Chair. “Tell us a little about yourselves.” Itai: My family and I live in Tel Aviv. My father, Shmuel, was killed in an attack on a bus traveling to Egypt in 1990. I became an active member of … Continue reading Meet Itai and Aisha
“When this tree grows up, I hope that the conflict will have ended and we will live in peace together.” –Ilham Bahar, bereaved Palestinian mother Today is Tu B’shvat, the Jewish holiday of ecological awareness. The bereaved Palestinian and Israeli members of the Parents Circle marked this day by planting 20 olive trees, both in … Continue reading 20 trees for 20 lives lost to the conflict
Changing Minds One Heart at a Time Shiri Ourian Executive Director American Friends of the Parents Circle – Families Forum This article was published in the Winter 2020 edition of Perspectives: The Magazine of Promised Land Museum. Some have called it the saddest—and most optimistic—organization. Its own leadership says it’s the only organization that doesn’t … Continue reading Changing Minds, One Heart at a Time | Shiri Ourian
RECORDING AVAILABLE WEBINAR: The Values Behind Vaccines COVID-19 & Access to Vaccines in Israel & Palestine Monday, January 25th Hear from Israel’s leading human rights attorney, Michael Sfard; Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, Ran Goldstein, and bereaved Israeli and Palestinian mothers and spokespersons, Robi Damelin and Layla Alsheikh, to get a better … Continue reading WEBINAR RECORDING: The Values Behind Vaccines
The Parents Circle has accomplished so much this year in the face of COVID-19, without permits and in the absence of political progress for peace. Take a look back on 2020: On Tour with Award-Winning Apeirogon: In February, 2020, Colum McCann’s critically-acclaimed novel, Apeirogon was published and shortly thereafter, Stephen Spielberg purchased the film rights. The story is inspired by the real-life friendship … Continue reading What you helped us accomplish in 2020 for peace
by Robi Damelin Bereaved Israeli mother Parents Circle – Families Forum The people of Israel were recently made aware of the fact that since April 2016, the country has been holding the remains of 68 Palestinians – a statistic provided by the B’Tselem human rights group. It seems that Israel’s government believes these remains could … Continue reading Ending the circle of grief | Robi Damelin
Five years ago I climbed a staircase in Beit Jala in the West Bank. I walked into a room where I met two men who, in the course of an hour, told a story which cleaved open my tired heart. Rami, Colum, and Bassam Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan told me the story of the life … Continue reading Colum McCann: The ruin of the heart is when we do nothing. Do something today.
I am Kholoud Houshiya and I live in the village of Al Yamun near Jenin. Originally my family is from Haifa. I wasn’t able to experience childhood due to the occupation, which forcibly displaced my family to Jenin under oppression and humiliation.
Later, I married and I gave birth to my first child, whom I named Mohammed. I raised him with all my love and effort.
Mohammed was a young man who loved life dearly, and he loved me even more. He was both my son and my friend, thanks to our close bond.
Mohamad was 23 years old. He worked in Israel and helped his father.
On January 2, 2024 Mohamed took a picture of the Israeli army tearing down my neighbor’s house. The army thought otherwise and they shot him. Just because he was Palestinian.
I always dreamed of seeing my son as a groom, just like any mother. But now, I am left with him buried in my garden. I had hoped to see him, his wife, and his children in my house, but now, every day, I look at his grave from the window in my room.
My message to the world is this: Enough. Enough killing, enough injustice, enough destruction, enough oppression. Enough violence on both sides.
It is not easy for a mother to recount the story of her son’s death—the pain is indescribable. I cannot bear the loss of another child. This is why we must raise the voice of the mothers for a better future for all children and young generations – Palestinians and Israelis.
I am Hala Al-Bukhari, living in Jerusalem.
My daughter, my sister and her large family, children and grandchildren live in Gaza. Despite the distance, before the war, I used to communicate with them daily, checking on their health via video call.
On the morning of October 7th, my son told me to watch TV to see what was happening in southern Israel. From that day, fear has overwhelmed my heart.
Then came the morning of October 18th, bringing the harsh news: My sister’s house was bombed, and she, her husband, her children, and grandchildren were in the house—33 innocent lives lost in this horrific massacre. Since then, my fear for my daughter has grown. I have pleaded with human rights organizations, seeking any means to get her out of the hell of war and the horror of the massacres. Eventually we succeeded to get my daughter out of Gaza.
With every word I write, I struggle to express the extent of my pain. Our hearts bleed with grief for those we have lost and continue to lose. Our sorrow is profound, and our souls yearn for the peace we all dream of.
Let us all live in peace and build a better future for our children. War brings only destruction and ruin to everyone involved, whether Palestinian or Israeli. It is always the innocent people who suffer the most.
I am Liat Atzili from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
My partner, Aviv and I built a life and a family in Nir Oz. We were an inseparable part of this little community, which fulfilled our aspirations and needs. Mine as an educator, and Aviv’s as a farmer and an artist.
On October 7th, our kibbutz was attacked, conquered, and destroyed by Hamas. A quarter of the residents were either killed or kidnapped, including me. The time I spent as a hostage in Gaza was of complete despair, unending fear for my friends and family, and long days. I was nervous that I wouldn’t survive.
After 54 days in captivity, I was returned home. The following day, my family and I were told that Aviv was killed on October 7th. Aviv had hundreds of friends, he traveled and created, and made the most of every opportunity; he truly loved life.In his final year, Aviv fulfilled many dreams, the greatest being to share his art publicly. While managing the kibbutz’s agricultural garage, he painted on tractor parts and scrap metal, blending his love for metals and the Negev fields into his creations. Our children looked up to him and I feel like I had the greatest privilege to share my life with him.
I always believed that war is not our destiny, and that any conflict, including ours, can be solved. This war has proven to me beyond a doubt that we cannot continue fighting, that we have no right to impose the continued suffering of war on future generations on either side. I am ready today, more than ever, to do everything in my power so that our children can live here in peace and security.
I am Mazen from Bethlehem. Many of my family members live in Beit Lahiya, Gaza. They lived in a beautiful house and went on about their lives, despite the siege.
It all stopped on October 10, 2024, when, my uncle, his three sons, and his son-in-law were outside near the house. Israeli aircraft targeted them with bombardment and gunfire. My aunt managed to bring their bodies into the house. With trembling hands, she was forced to gather what remained of them, unable for over a week to lay her husband and three sons to rest.
I cannot believe that so many of my family are dead, and that I cannot go there to help them and cry with them.
The depth of pain in Gaza is beyond description and cannot be fathomed by the human mind. How much longer will this hatred on both sides continue? How much longer will we endure this nightmare? All the Palestinian people desire is a dignified life free from occupation—a fundamental right, just like that of any other people in the world.
The suffering will not cease until we collectively seek pathways to peace and understanding. Revenge will not forge a shared future; we must strive to find common ground and solidarity. Let us unite for a brighter future for the generations to come, and let us raise our voices for peace, so that together we may end this cycle of violence and finally live in safety and harmony.
