| Founder(s) | Yitzhak Frankenthal, Roni Hirshenzon |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-profit NGO |
| Founded | 6 September 1998 |
| Location | Ramat Ef'al, Israel Beit Jala, West Bank, Palestinian territories |
| Area served | Israel and the Palestinian territories |
| Employees | 13 |
| Website | www.theparentscircle.org |
The Parents Circle-Families Forum (PC-FF) is a grassroots organization of Palestinian and Israeli families who have lost immediate family members due to the conflict. Together, they transform their pain and bereavement into the catalyst for a joint mission of reconciliation and coexistence in the midst of ongoing violence.
PC-FF was founded in 1994 by Yitzhak Frankenthal whose son Arik was killed by Hamas.[1] Today, PC-FF includes more than 500 members, half Israeli and half Palestinian.[2] The members conduct dialogue sessions, give lectures, and engage in projects to support dialogue and reconciliation.
The Parents Circle – Families Forum is a not-for-profit organization which operates from two offices: an Israeli office in Tel Aviv and a Palestinian office located in the West Bank. Khaled Abu Awwad and Nir Oren, a Palestinian and an Israeli, respectively, are the co-general managers of the PC-FF.
Contents |
In July 1994, 19 year old Israeli soldier Arik Frankenthal was kidnapped and killed by Hamas. To come to terms with the loss, Arik’s father Yitzhak Frankenthal decided to found an organization of bereaved families. He co-founded the group with Roni Hirshenzon, who lost two sons to the conflict.[3] The group was originally made of bereaved Israelis, but Frankenthal and Hirshenzon managed to reach out to Palestinian families who had also lost loved ones. Among the first people they met on the Palestinian side was Dr. Jawad Tibi whose 4 brothers were killed by the IDF.[4]
Parents Circle creates innovative projects to spread its message of hope and reconciliation. PC-FF’s long term goal is to create a framework for a reconciliation process to be in place for when political agreements are signed. All the work on the ground is geared towards this process as the Forum firmly believes that without reconciliation, there will only be a cease fire and not peace. PC-FF members from Israel and the Palestinian Territories regularly meet even under nearly impossible circumstances such as right after the Gaza war of 2008-9.[5]
The PC-FF’s flagship program for the general public is its educational program. High school “Dialogue Encounters” bring two forum members, one Israeli and one Palestinian to classrooms in Israel, East Jerusalem and the West Bank to talk to students about the possibility of peace and reconciliation. Close to 40,000 students are reached each year.[6]
Among PC-FF’s most ambitious public activities was a display of coffins draped in Israeli and Palestinian flags outside of the United Nations in New York in 2002.[7] In 2007, PC-FF returned to the United Nations with the exhibit “Offering Reconciliation.” 135 Palestinian and Israeli artists created their vision of reconciliation on identical ceramic plates.[8] The Exhibition was also displayed at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Bellevue Museum in Seattle, Brandeis University and at SOFA in Chicago. In 2009, PC-FF presented an exhibit called “Cartooning in Conflict” of famous political cartoonists from around the world whose work touches on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The exhibit has been shown in Israel, New York, London, Italy and Spain.[9] The show will be at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010.[10] In 2010, PC-FF will be working the Swiss Government to convene meetings with Israeli and Palestinian political leaders to stress the importance of reconciliation work to the success of any peace deals.
PC-FF has taken part in numerous public events in Israel including the memorial for assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and in protests to bring back Gilad Shalit, an IDF soldier held by Hamas since 2006. PC-FF delegations have met with leaders such as the late Yassir Arafat[11] and Israeli President Shimon Peres.[12] PC-FF members have also met with Jordan’s King Abdullah.[13] In 2009, singer Leonard Cohen performed in Tel Aviv and dedicated his concert (and its proceeds) to peace groups. He prominently mentioned PC-FF during his performance and brought many to tears[14][15] Musicians James Taylor and Patti Smith have also played benefit shows for PC-FF.[16] In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI gave a speech on inter-religious dialogue in Jerusalem. PC-FF’s work was mentioned in his talk and members were invited to hear him speak.[17]
With the help of USAID, the PCFF created the TV drama series “Good Intentions.” The show was a 10 chapter story focused on the lives and families of two women chefs, one Israeli and one Palestinian, and their attempt to create a cooking show for T.V. The show was aired on prime time on Channel 2 Israeli Television and featured Israeli and Palestinian actors. The dialogue was in Hebrew and Arabic with subtitles for readers of both languages.[18]
The successful "Hello Shalom/Salaam" phone hotline allowed Israelis and Palestinians to talk for free and make connections that otherwise would not have been possible.[19] The program garnered 1,000,000 phone calls. Additionally, PC-FF members Aziz Abu Sarah and Sharon Misheiker started a weekly program on "All for Peace" radio called “A New Direction”.[20] Members Rami Elhanan and Bassam Aramin now have a show and call it “New Directions.” PC-FF also maintains a trilingual website in English, Arabic and Hebrew.
The Parents Circle will be launching “A Crack in the Wall" an exciting innovative initiative to update the Hello Shalom, Hello Salam telephone line bringing the concept to social media and using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to engage in ongoing conversation and communication. This is an opportunity for the whole world to have a stake in the conversation. Every week a current news topic will be chosen for discussion and messages can be sent to the Palestinian or the Israeli virtual wall in response to these topics and immediately some 100,000 Israelis or Palestinians will see it. This program was made possible with the support of the European Union.
At the grassroots level, PC-FF and partners gave cameras to Palestinian and Israeli youth so they could document their surroundings and the conflict through their eyes.[21] Members conduct seminars and workshops and provide training for other activists. There are meetings specifically for youth and there have been summer camps for children of bereaved families.[22] There are also internet reconciliation initiatives and the "Messengers of Reconciliation" program that trains young people in sharing PC-FF’s message with new audiences.[23]
“Knowing is the Beginning” is a project which was produced as a pilot by the Parents Circle Members that was so successful that it led to the U.S.A.I.D. grant for the group to take it out to the general public under the name of "History through the Human Eye". This project provided an intimate way for members of the PCFF to come to understand the historical family tree and personal narrative of the other.[24] It included the telling of narratives, visits to The Holocaust Museum, and to a Palestinian village which existed before 1948 and lectures by Palestinian and Israeli historians on how they viewed the historical landmarks for both sides.
In 2011, Khaled Abu Awwad was awarded the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence for "his efforts to promote tolerance, peace and non-violence through his work as a peace activist and leader in the reconciliation process between Palestinians and Israelis."[25]
The Gold Medal of Merit for outstanding service in the field of international understanding and reconciliation. Given by the Seniors Union of Germany’s Christian Democrat Union (CDU) and to be presented by Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2010.
The Gandhi Foundation International Peace Award for 2010.[26]
The Martha Prize for tolerance and democratic values in Jerusalem, 2009 - The Jerusalem Foundation,05.13.2009, Jerusalem, Israel, YMCA auditorium in Jerusalem.[27]
The Three Cultures award for Peace and Dialogue, 2009 - The Three Cultures Foundation of the Mediterranean Sea,3.10.2009, Seville, Spain, at the headquarters of the Foundation.[28]
Search for Common Ground award for peace building in the Middle East, 2008 - Search for Common Ground, 11.14.2008, Canadian Embassy, Washington D.C[29]
People to People International's most prestigious award, the Eisenhower Medallion, 2008 - People to People’s International, 9.3-8.2008, 18th PTPI Worldwide Conference in Cairo, Egypt.[30]
Goldberg IIE Awards Prize to Members of Parents Circle Family Forum, 2008 - The Institute of International Education (IIE) and IIE’s Executive Committee member and former vice chairman Victor J. Goldberg, 6.24.2008, The American Center in Jerusalem, Israel.[31]
Solidar's Silver Rose Award in its "International category - Peace and Reconciliation", 2007 - Solidar, 10.16.2007, EP, Brussels, Belgium.[32]
The work of PC-FF has been featured in various documentaries. The award-winning Encounter Point (2006) follows peace activists trying to work together across the Israeli-Palestinian divide.[33] Encounter Point prominently features PC-FF members Ali Abu Awwad and Robi Damelin who have both overcome great loss to become activists for peace and non-violence in their own communities and in cross-cultural exchanges. Another Side of Peace (2004) follows the story of co-founder Roni Hirshenzon as he explains what brought him to reconciliation work and talks to newly bereaved families.
|
|||||