The UK Friends of the Parents Circle - Families Forum is committed to supporting Parents Circle - Families Forum (PCFF), a joint Israeli and Palestinian organisation made up of more than 1,000 bereaved families, all of whom have lost a close family member to the conflict. Instead of seeking revenge, these brave members have chosen the path of reconciliation.

Parents Circle - Families Forum - Work:

Members of the Forum conduct educational, public and media activities to promote reconciliation between the Palestinian and Israeli communities.

These are a few of their projects:

Parallel Narrative Experience (PNE)

The PNE is a 70-hour seminar, made up of 25-30 Israeli and Palestinian participants who have the opportunity to come together in workshops, dialogue meetings and site visits to explore each other’s personal, historical and national narratives. This unique module of unilateral and joint workshops promotes empathy, humanisation and understanding of the other side. A thousand Israelis and Palestinians have now been through this experience and constitute an active graduate base. Project graduates carry out grassroots, non-violent and solidarity activities on the ground to promote reconciliation.

Forum members on a visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.

Dialogue Meetings

Each year the Bereaved Families Forum holds more than 260 Dialogue Meetings in high schools, youth groups and informal educational settings for young people aged from 14-18 as well as young adults. Two members, one Israeli and one Palestinian, share their stories of loss and explain their choice of reconciliation rather than revenge. For many of the young people, it is the first time they have met someone from the ‘other side’ and the first time they experience their humanity.

Recognising the need to have some kind of follow-up to the powerful experience of these meetings, PCFF has developed a training programme and materials for teachers to use in subsequent classes. This new programme gives teachers the tools to support their students more effectively and to guide them through the ‘emotional breakthrough’, thereby increasing the impact, sustainability and reach of the project.

Joint Memorial Ceremony

For two decades, Joint Memorial Day Ceremony has brought Israelis and Palestinians together in shared grief and shared hope. Members of the Parents Circle - Families Forum continue to stand together — mourning side by side, calling for a future of peace, safety, and freedom for all. Organised by the Parents Circle - Families Forum and Combatants for Peace, the ceremony is the largest Israeli-Palestinian peace event in history. For years, the ceremony has transformed narratives, challenging cycles of violence and reminding the world that reconciliation is within reach. Find out more here.

Youth Peace Camp

Each summer more than 40 young Israelis and Palestinians, bereaved and non-bereaved, attend a week long summer camp getting to know each other, engaging in dialogue, educational activities and having fun together through nature, the arts, sports and games. The goal is to generate trust, opportunities for dialogue, understanding and relationships that transcend the conflict. Many of the counsellors were once participants themselves and are now mentoring the next generation. Click here to find out more.

Young Ambassadors of Peace

A cohort of bereaved Israeli and Palestinian young adults (ages 18-27) who have either been through our youth programs consistently, or exposed to PCFF messages and activities through their parents’ membership in the organization. The purpose of working with young PCFF adults is to create a joint leadership, to be the next generation of the PCFF and to be able to address youth groups in Israel and in Palestine and to deliver the message of reconciliation. A special program is established every year for youth groups, which includes leadership workshops, learning about the Palestinian narrative and the Israeli narrative, instruction skills development and more. Throughout the year and mostly in the summer months, young PCFF members take on the role of instructors in the youth summer camp and gatherings.

Women’s Group

The Women’s Group is made up of more than 50 bereaved Israeli and Palestinian women who work together to amplify women’s voices in promoting reconciliation. It succeeds in bringing together Palestinian and Israeli women who are committed to promoting peace and reconciliation despite the hostile social context. The women receive training so they can use their stories to inspire hope and facilitate dialogue. They use cooking, embroidery, photography and public demonstration to communicate and share their messages with the public. Since October 2023, our women's groups are temporarily held online as it has been extremely challenging to bring together Israelis and Palestinians.

We, the Parents Circle – Families Forum women’s group, invite you to hear our voice. 

Learn more about the Forum’s activities from its website.

Back to School Campaign

This year has been the single longest Israeli military operation in the West Bank since the second Intifada, which continues today. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were working in Israel lost their jobs, and families struggle to afford even the most basic school supplies for their children. 

An unprecedented number of orphaned children from Gaza have been relocated to the West Bank. Over 39,000 children have lost one or both parents in Gaza, and many orphanages in the West Bank have opened their doors to them, as has the education system.
Violence and occupation continues to impact everyday life, resulting in increased mental health challenges including anxiety and depression with children. 

Each year, the Parents Circle holds a Back to School Campaign to provide relief and support for thousands of Palestinian children. This is a community-led mutual aid campaign, organised by bereaved Palestinians and Israelis together.

The Parents Circle - Families Forum provides backpacks, school supplies, and tuition assistance to Palestinian children across the West Bank, including hundreds of orphans from Gaza who are new to the school system.