The 2021 Israeli-Palestinian
Joint Memorial Day Ceremony

April 13, 2021

The Joint Memorial Day Ceremony, co-hosted by Combatants for Peace and Parents Circle – Families Forum, challenges the traditional narrative of victimhood and separation, and brings people together declaring, “War and occupation are Not Acts of Fate – but a Human Choice!”

Last year 200,000 people participated in our live Broadcast.

In 2021:

Quotes from ceremony speakers

After the Ceremony

Zoom breakout sessions with speakers, activists, and more

At the end of the ceremony, participants were invited to join the zoom sessions that dealt with memory, fear, the ceremony, and the connection between them. Watch the recordings at the links below.

Session descriptions and links:

    • Meet with the speakersThe speakers of the ceremony — Tamar Pikes, Leila Al-Sheikh and Gili Meisler– participated and answered your questions regarding the ceremony and their personal bereavement.
      Language: English

    • The Personal Story — Muna Abu Sara, a spokeswoman for the ceremony, who lost her son Khaled, and Guy Elhanan, who lost his sister Smadar, told their personal stories and the path they took until they reached the Parents Circle – Families Forum.
      Language: Arabic

    • The Personal Story — Yuval Sapir, who lost his sister, and Ashraf Abu Ayash, who lost his father, will tell their personal story, and the path they took until they reached the Parents Circle – Families Forum.
      Language: Hebrew

    • The Ceremony – How did it all start? — Osama Elewat and Avner Vishnitzer, members of Combatants for Peace, will talk about the establishment of the movement, the idea behind it and the connection between these and the ceremony.
      Language: Hebrew

    • Narrative of Fear — Nadav Weiman, a member of Breaking the Silence, will talk about fear, the main justification mechanism of the occupation – and how he learned to leave it behind.
      Language: Hebrew

    • Disturbing the Peace – Suleiman Khatib from Combatants for Peace and Steve Apkon, the creator of the film Disturbing the Peace will talk about exactly this: How do you create change within the comfort zone?
      Language: English

    • Overcoming Oppression from the United States to Palestine — Eldras Jackson III and Aziz Abu-Sara will talk about the common denominator between the movement and racial justice in the United States and the Palestinian struggle for freedom.
      Language: English

    • Israeli Society: Immune System in Crisis — Journalist Akiva Eldar will talk with Prof. Daniel Bar-Tal, who studies conflicts and their resolution, about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a social-psychological lens.
      Language: Hebrew

    • Overcoming fear through nonviolent action — David Shulman and Sami Awad, activists, philosophers and non-violent resistance experts, will talk about the fear of rebelling against reality and the ways to deal with this fear.
      Language: English

View past ceremonies:

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