With Middle East peace talks at a standstill, a group of activists is taking matters into its own hands. The Parents’ Circle Families Forum, a group comprising Palestinians and Israelis who have lost family members in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, aims to build a bridge between the two fractured communities.
"Waiting for our respective leaderships to forge peace will take too long," Israeli board director and forum member Rami Elchanan told IPS. "It is through the common people that we can consider a different tomorrow.
"We want to prevent further bereavement, in the absence of peace, to influence the public and the policy makers – to prefer the way of peace to the way of war, as well as educate for peace and reconciliation. We also want to promote the cessation of acts of hostility and the achievement of a political agreement and prevent the usage of bereavement as a means of expanding enmity between our peoples," said Elchanan.
Every week members of the Parents’ Circle Families Forum give talks at schools, universities, hotels and other venues to Israelis, Palestinians and foreigners. The group also holds summer camps, offers youth leadershp seminars and its public and media activities consist of TV and radio programmes and documentaries.
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