| Dear Friend We are writing to you today with an urgent appeal. The Israeli-Palestinian Joint Memorial Ceremony is less than two weeks away, and we need your support. Our Joint Memorial Ceremony will be historic: larger in size and scope than any grassroots peace event ever created by Palestinians and Israelis together. People ask us, "Why are you focusing on the Ceremony right now, when the world is facing the Coronavirus?" Our answer: because human rights, equality and peace cannot wait. The Coronavirus is only exacerbating the conflict, with an increase in violence and hostility, resulting in rising hatred and division. Together, we can combat hate and build a society based on mutual dignity and respect. The Coronavirus crisis shows us that neither walls nor checkpoints, knives nor stones can protect us. We are all human beings. We will not give up. A donation to the Joint Memorial Ceremony is an investment in peace. This year's Memorial Ceremony, co-hosted by The Parents Circle - Families Forum, promises to be one of the most extraordinary events the peace camp has ever seen. We are expecting tens of thousands of people to join us, from all around the world. The event will commence with a one-hour live broadcast, featuring speakers and musicians from Israel and Palestine. It will be followed by intimate Zoom conversations, where participants will be invited to sit (virtually) with bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families, in their living rooms, and speak to them about their struggles and their hopes. Yet this new format presents a unique and unexpected challenge for us, and is taxing our already stretched resources. We need to rent a production studio and mobile units in order to reach our speakers and artists in lock-down. Funds are needed for filming and broadcast equipment. We need to hire technical and production crews to replace our past activist-volunteers. Our threats this year have changed dramatically and we must include intensive cyber-security measures.
We are constantly adapting and working around the clock to create our digital Ceremony. This is why we are turning to you with this special request for help. The Coronavirus will end, and when it does, we want to offer our children a future of peace, of freedom - and full of life. We cannot do that without your help. | | | Eleven days before the 15th Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Ceremony, a message from... | | My name is Adam Rabia, I am 43 and from Ramallah. This is the fourth year I will be watching the ceremony, and the second year that I am also involved in producing it. Today it is clear to me why I participate in this Ceremony, but the journey here was not easy. When I first heard about the Joint Memorial, I was very curious. I wanted to be there and to understand what the event was about, so I signed up to be one of the guests. Memorial Day is usually an Israeli-only occasion, and as I sat there I felt the old warrior in me was resisting and anxious, and raising questions: how can I be here while the occupation is still going on? Like in a film, the pictures went through my head: home demolitions, administrative imprisonment, settler violence, herdsmen and shepherds' broken voices separated from their land, cries of mothers fearing the fate of their children. But the more I listened, the more I realized how this ceremony is a place where something extraordinary was happening. I remember being surprised to see Israelis who wanted peace and who acknowledged the pain of the Palesinian community. I did not know, throughout my years in the resistance, that there was pain on the other side. I could not imagine that a soldier (who I always felt was a threat) had a mother who would cry if he was killed, just as my mother would cry if I was killed. At the ceremony, I saw tears in people's eyes, and I couldn't identify if they were Israeli or Palestinian. I saw people who believed in each other. I saw emotions, thoughtfulness, compassion. I saw that there is a place where I could share my pain and also feel the pain of the "other." I remember the moment when they announced the arrival of the Palestinian guests, and the whole crowd - thousands of people - applauded for long minutes. It was so exciting... I felt like I was in the right place. This is the world I want. And I want it to grow and expand to the whole country. Two years ago, when they were looking for a Palestinian to take the lead in co-producing the ceremony, I took on this role. This Ceremony gives me a voice, and it changed my life. | | | | Our upcoming Online Events (RSVP to this email to register) NEW! Saturday, April 18th, 5pm UTC followed by a talk with singer/songwriter Noa (Achinoam Nini) and film makers Steve Apkon and Marcina Hale, alongside the CfP activists who star in the film
Sunday, April 19th, 6:30pm UTC "Art, Music and Theater as Forms of Resistance" with CfP activist Chen Alon and Hanoch Piven, Memorial Ceremony artist
Monday, April 27th, 5:30pm UTC Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Ceremony The Ceremony will be broadcast worldwide.
Click here for the latest details
Saturday, May 9th, 4pm UTC "Cultivating Young Leadership"
in collaboration with Creativity for Peace |
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