Ohavi Zedek is thrilled to be an organizer of this event with The Parents Circle – Families Forum program June 23.
Other co-sponsors at this time include the First Unitarian Universalist Society Burlington (where the event will be held), First Congregational Church, Congregation Ruach haMaqom, Vermont Interfaith Action, The Cathedral Church of St. Paul and more.
This interfaith event will take place at First Unitarian Universalist Society Burlington at 152 Pearl Street. We will first come together to eat a snack including hummus and pita (outside weather permitting), then go inside to be joined on Zoom by two individuals, a Palestinian and an Israeli; both bereaved members of the Forum. They will share their stories of loss and their unique choice of reconciliation.
*This event will only be available for guests to attend in person.
This is part of a series of OZ projects focused on peace and dialog in the wake of the tragic events that have been unfolding in the middle east.
Our guests will be:
Ofer Lior, who lives in the Western Galilee, Israel. He has spent his career facilitating and coordinating joint activities between Israelis and Palestinians, most recently coordinating the Center for Learning and Dialogue in the Nes-Ammim community in the North of Israel. Ofer’s brother Oren was killed in 1989 during his time in reserve duty at the Jordanian border. He has been active in the Parents Circle for about 15 years and has participated in many Dialogue Meetings.
Laila Alsheikh, who lives in Bethlehem in the West Bank. In 2002, her 6 months old son, Qussay, became ill and Israeli soldiers prevented Layla from taking him to the hospital for more than five hours. Qussay soon died from the lack of timely treatment. Laila joined the Parents Circle in 2016. Following her son’s death, she never thought of revenge, but rather has devoted her time and energy to ensuring a better, more peaceful future for her children.
The Parents Circle – Families Forum is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization made up of more than 700 bereaved families. Their common bond is that they have lost a close family member to the conflict. But instead of choosing revenge, they have chosen a path of reconciliation. Through their educational activities, these bereaved members have joined together to take tens of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis on journeys of reconciliation. It is often raw and always emotional. But out of these interactions, comes change. Not the kind of change that makes headlines, but a more personal and profound shift in perspective.
As a joint Israeli-Palestinian peace organization, the PCFF models constructive dialogue around shared values. Even since October 7th, 2023, its staff, members, and thousands of participants are still committed to peace and a way forward that centers around empathy and humanization. The PCFF focuses on the shared value of the sanctity of human life. This conversation brings our attention to the values that Palestinians and Israelis can agree upon even in the darkest of times.
American Friends of the Parents Circle – Families Forum shares the human side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the American public in order to foster a peace and reconciliation process.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParentsCircleFamiliesForum/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parentscirclefriends/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thepcff?lang=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-friends-of-the-parents-circle-families-forum
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZYDEirJA3cxTY-Pbh2SZMw
Website: https://www.parentscirclefriends.org