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  • History of the Forum
  1. Who we are
  2. Our story

History of the Forum

Yitzhak Frankenthal

The Bereaved Families Forum (sometimes known as the Parents Circle-Families Forum) was started by Yitzhak Frankenthal (left) in 1995, a year after his 19-year-old son Arik was killed by Hamas. He declared that as a religious Jew he could not justify seeking revenge for his son’s murder. Despite his pain, he said, the only ethical response to the loss of his son was to try to prevent further deaths and suffering.

So he set about contacting other bereaved families, both Israeli and Palestinian, and persuading them that reconciliation was a better objective than revenge.

The Forum has now grown to 650 members, who have found a common purpose in sharing their stories and working to break down the barriers between their two communities.


UK support group launched

Judith Elkan, Chairman of FBFF

In 2004, Forum member Aaron Barnea, whose son Noam had been killed in the Lebanon war in 1999, spoke at a meeting in London and some of his audience were inspired to set up a support group, the Friends of the Bereaved Families Forum (FBFF).

Led by their first chairman, Judith Elkan (right), members of FBFF organised speaking tours in the UK for Israeli and Palestinian members of the Forum and arranged fund-raising events.

They also managed to generate publicity in the media, to demonstrate to the British public that there was a voice for peace and reconciliation amid the gloom and pessimism over successive Middle East wars.

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Published: 17th October, 2019

Updated: 10th June, 2020

Author: Peter Singer

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Latest

  • Breaking down barriers

    Breaking down barriers

    Yigal is Israeli. Arab is Palestinian. Each of them lost a sister in the conflict. Together they led an online discussion with FBFF supporters, chaired by Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, one of FBFF's Patrons.

  • Our tears are the same

    Our tears are the same

    Layla is Palestinian. Robi is Israeli. They are both mothers. Both have lost a child to the conflict in Israel and Palestine, but both have chosen to seek peace and reconciliation. Join them on Monday 1st June for a Dialogue Meeting where they will share their stories of bereavement and hope, followed by a question and answer session.

  • Media coverage

    Media coverage

    How FBFF and the Bereaved Families Forum were reported in the papers, on radio and television – in the UK and internationally.

  • Three-way webinar defies Covid-19 lockdown

    Three-way webinar defies Covid-19 lockdown

    Supporters of the Bereaved Families Forum had two opportunities to share in a transatlantic dialogue between two bereaved fathers and Colum McCann (above), who has turned their haunting story into a new novel, Apeirogon.

Most read

  • Breaking down barriers

    Breaking down barriers

    Yigal is Israeli. Arab is Palestinian. Each of them lost a sister in the conflict. Together they led an online discussion with FBFF supporters, chaired by Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, one of FBFF's Patrons.

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