Short Abstract:

The October 7th 2023 attacks and the Hamas-Israel War have caused unspeakable human suffering and trauma . This roundtable hears from representatives of four organizations where Jews and Palestinians are working together to foster human rights and peace, refusing to give in to divisions, despite polarizing discourses that stoke intolerance toward one community or the other.

Long Abstract:

The October 7th, 2023, attacks in Israel and the Hamas-Israel War have caused unspeakable human suffering and trauma that will continue to have repercussions for generations. There are few words left to describe the horrors. People around the world who wish for peace are discouraged. And yet, in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, thousands of Jews and Palestinians who have experienced harms first-hand refuse to give in to divisions, despite polarizing discourses that stoke intolerance toward one community or the other. In this roundtable, we will hear from representatives of four organizations where Jews and Palestinians are working together to foster human rights and peace. The work has never been easy, and the current context has brought additional challenges. What are the new challenges that result from the current armed conflict? What practical skills do these organizations use to counter divisive discourses and actions? How does their work contribute to narratives that de-emphasize differences and underscore people’s multiple shared identities? How do members maintain hope for some form of reconciliation and political solution in the current context? What can we all learn from their resilience and commitment to standing together for human rights and peace?

The four organizations are:

* (Descriptions taken and/or adapted from their websites)

The Parents Circle-Families Forum (also known as Israeli Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace)

https://www.theparentscircle.org/en/pcff-home-page-en/

“All people are born with desires, aspirations and wishes they seek to achieve. But, in societies that live in ongoing conflict, these wishes and aspirations are very much determined by the narrative of the community a person is born into.” (https://www.theparentscircle.org/en/pcff-activities_eng/narrative-pne_eng/)

Created in 1995, The Parents Circle-Families Forum brings together Jewish and Palestinian families who have lost an immediate family member due to the ongoing conflict. Its activities include dialogue meetings for youth and adults in schools and other settings that are led by an Israeli and a Palestinian who tell their personal stories of bereavement and explain their choice to engage in dialogue instead of revenge.

Palestine-Israel Journal

https://www.pij.org/

The Palestine-Israel Journal was founded in 1994 by two prominent Palestinian and Israeli journalists to encourage dialogue between civil societies on both sides to broaden the base of support for the peace process. A forum for academics and other intellectuals, it provides background material and in-depth analysis of various aspects that are related to the conflict from the perspective of both sides, thus helping to shed light on the complex issues dividing Israelis and Palestinians and the relationship between the two peoples.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel

https://www.phr.org.il/en/

Founded in 1988 by a group of Israeli physicians, Physicians for Human Rights Israel works to promote a just society where the right to health is granted equally to all people under Israel’s responsibility. It employs a multi-faceted approach through the provision of humanitarian aid and work promoting policy change. The principles of human rights, medical ethics, and social justice are at the core its worldview. It holds that the medical community is sometimes complicit––passively or actively––in oppressive practices that undermine equality and health. It views the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian Territory as a root cause of multiple human rights violations including the right to health and actively advocates for its end.

Standing Together

https://www.standing-together.org/en

Standing Together is a grassroots movement with regional and student chapters that brings together Jews and Palestinians in pursuit of peace, equality, and social and climate justice. Its work includes organizing workshops on grassroots power and organizing protests demanding economic equality and an end to the occupation. Its work since the war has included organizing solidarity conventions, opening 12 solidarity networks to provide safe and open spaces for discourse, and cleaning public spaces of racist and violent graffiti and replacing these with posters calling for solidarity and peace.