Parents to speak at WCU Mideast forum

Palestinian and Israeli parents lost family members in conflict

A Palestinian parent and an Israeli parent will speak about hope and peace in the face of tragedy.

WEST CHESTER >> Tragedy has been known to bring people who find themselves on opposite sides together in shared grief. That is the case of two parents caught up in a conflict in the Middle East.

On Thursday, a Palestinian parent and an Israeli parent will appear at West Chester University to spread their message of hope and peace. Brought together by tragedy, Mazen Faraj, the Palestinian, and Robi Damelin, the Israeli, are traveling the speaking circuit, sharing their story of loss, empathy, and how opposite worlds can come together in reconciliation despite the disasters of war.

They are both members of the Parents Circle Families Forum (PCFF), a joint grassroots Palestinian-Israeli organization of over 600 families, all of whom have

lost a close family member as a result of the prolonged conflict.

Joint activities have shown that the reconciliation between individuals and nations is possible, and it is this insight that they are trying to pass on to both sides of the conflict.

According to the university, Damelin’s 28-year-old son David was killed by a Palestinian sniper.

On The Forgiveness Project website, www.theforgivenessproject.com, Damelin said, “I realized that I shared the same pain as the Palestinian mothers and that with our pain we could become the most effective catalyst for change.

“I saw then that I had

a choice about what to do with my pain – to invest it in revenge or try to think creatively. Since then I have travelled the world, spreading the message of reconciliation, tolerance, and peace.”

Faraj’s 62 year-old father was killed by Israeli soldiers who shot him more than 60 times without provocation.

Yet, Faraj brings this message to each side: “I want you to understand each other, not necessarily to agree with each other. … I choose to fight the nonviolent way. … We do not have a political solution but at least we have a dream to end this.”

As Jonathan Friedman, director of the university’s Holocaust and Genocide Education Center notes, “Mazen and Robi are ordinary people discussing the human side of conflict,

working together to promote the abolition of hatred through a movement of peace.”

Audience members will grasp a deeper understanding on the violations of human rights and how the need for revenge can be overcome by the development of empathy and determination for peace, Friedman said.

The two parents will appear at the free program, which is hosted by the University’s Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Sykes Student Union Theater.

For more information on the event, contact Friedman at jfriedman@wcupa. edu.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.