As is written on the American Friends for Combatants for Peace website in their description of why hundreds of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians join together for this memorial day commemoration:

“The Joint Memorial Ceremony, organized by Combatants for Peace (CfP) and The Parents Circle Families Forum and co-sponored by Mishkan, is the largest Israeli-Palestinian jointly organized peace event. The Joint Memorial Ceremony provides a unique opportunity for Israelis and Palestinians to grieve together and stand strong in demanding an end to the ongoing violence. The Ceremony takes place every year on the eve of Yom Hazikaron (Israeli Memorial Day). In Israeli mainstream culture, the ceremonies that are most often held to honor this day serve to reinforce cultural narratives of pain, victimhood, and hopelessness. Our Joint Memorial transforms this narrative by bringing Palestinians to the Memorial alongside Israelis. Joining together to mourn each other’s pain, we aim to challenge the status quo and set the foundation for a new reality based on mutual respect, dignity, and equality for all. In mourning together, we seek not to equate narratives, but rather transform despair into hope and build bridges of compassion. We remind ourselves and society that occupation, oppression, and violence are not inevitable.”

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