The Parents Circle - Families Forum came to my attention several years ago, but Len Traubman sends a link to a recently updated website full of events and activities. Bereaved Jewish and Arab families from Israel and Palestine who have lost family members to strife come together for peace and reconciliation.
This group is close to my heart. Sectarian violence in Lebanon took the life of my grandmother, Sabat Saikaly Abu-Saba, in 1985. Only forgiveness and reconciliation can heal such a wound - bitterness, resentment, condemnation or vengeance do nothing but inflame it. People who have suffered such losses and can use them to open their hearts have much to teach the rest of us about the way to true peace and justice.
More about The Parents Circle in The Guardian. In this article the phone line project is described, in which ordinary Palestinians and Israelis can call a special number and talk to each other. The project has been wildly popular, with floods of calls.
"Once the dialogue starts, people realise how similar they are," says Aaron. "Extremists on both sides hijack the conflict, make it religious, and it becomes impossible to solve. We try to humanise it, show the way it affects individual lives, rather than treating it as a war between two peoples"
>In this article the phone line project is described, in which
>ordinary Palestinians and Israelis can call a special number and talk
>to each other. The project has been wildly popular, with floods of
>calls.
I love the idea of a telephone hotline where people can call to talk
to another random person about a hotbutton issue. The utility of an
anonymous phone exchange where folks can speak honestly to people on
the other side of a contentious issue should extend to many debates
beyond Mideast Peace. I'd love to see such a phone exchange about the
abortion debate, where violence has also occurred and people on
opposite sides demonize each other. For such emotional topics, a
phone exchange should work be far more effective than Usenet, as it
would be harder to flame a particular individual if you could hear
his/her voice.
Posted by: Alison | July 14, 2004 at 08:49 PM