In 2011 the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi (Israel) together with the Peres Centre for Peace launched ‘the Impossible Brief’, a challenge to creative agencies around the world to come up with imaginative solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Of the many submissions, the winner was a suggestion from BETC in Paris, who proposed a huge blood donation operation involving volunteers from both countries. They asked: ‘Would you kill someone who’s got your people’s blood inside them?’

The campaign was launched in Israel/Palestine in September. It involved Israelis and Palestinians donating blood to each other, not only to save lives, but also to symbolically heal a conflict in which so much blood has been spilled. The idea eventually produced a short film, ‘Blood Relations’, illustrating the power of the idea.

Following the London premiere of the film, a group of students came together at the NHS Blood Service centre in Margaret Street, near Oxford Circus, to donate blood together. The Jewish, Muslim and international students were supported by visitors from the Bereaved Families Forum. The Forum’s spokesperson said: ‘Blood Relations seeks to provide a catalyst for dialogue by demonstrating two peoples’ shared humanity through the common bond of blood. It is incumbent upon us to stress the need for an ongoing dialogue towards peace.’