Every year, the PCFF women celebrate International Women’s Day with a variety of events
Hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians have participated over the years, calling for change the current situation and to find a solution for the conflict
International Women’s Day 2021: “Flowers of Hope for International Women’s Day”
24 Israeli and Palestinian women from the Parents Circle – Families Forum present a dried flower to the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, in honor of International Women’s Day, on March 8th.
Every women dried a flower in the name of their lost loved one, and glued it into a hand-made album. Added to this gesture is a letter with a message of hope, that the Biden administration will revive negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
International Women’s Day 2019: “Israeli and Palestinian women march together – an alternative path is possible”
On Friday March 8th, International Women’s Day, nearly 200 Palestinian and Israeli women (and a number of men) marched down Rothchild Avenue in Tel Aviv, proclaiming “Israeli and Palestinian women march together, because an alternative path is possible”. It was moving to hear messages of peace and reconciliation in Hebrew and Arabic and to watch passersby receive flowers from Palestinian and Israeli women with the message that “it is better to give flowers to the living than to place them on the graves of the dead”.
The first stop was at Habima Square, where two Forum members, Bushra Awad from Beit-Omar and Anat Marnin from Tel Aviv, spoke on stage.
The march ended at Rabin Square, where the women were hosted at the Peace Tent of the Women Wage Peace movement. The meeting emphasized what is common and not only what separates the two groups.
This event is part of a larger process involving 40 Palestinian and Israeli women, Forum members, who study the idea of reconciliation as the basis for joint action. In the future, this knowledge will be shared with additional circles within the Forum and will be utilized to impact the Israeli and Palestinian societies.
International Women’s Day 2018: “So you don’t have to be strong…”
The joint Israeli-Palestinian PCFF sees great importance in strengthening the voices of women, who are considered full leading partners on the path to reconciliation and peace.
We mark International Women’s Day every year, this year with a special video: “So you don’t have to be strong…”
We are grateful to our production partners from the Baumann Ber Rivnay office.
International Women’s Day 2017: “Breaking the Walls Between Us”
In celebration of International Women’s Day, PCFF Women’s Group initiated an event that took place on 10 March 2017 in Beit Jala, with more than 200 female participants.
Suha Abu Khdeir, mother of Mohammed Abu Khdeir who was murdered on July 2014, opened the event. Suha joined the PCFF and through her words, she shared her story and the message of reconciliation, which she has decided to lead.
In a special panel, entitled “Three generations of reconciliation”, six Israeli and Palestinian women, from each generation, who had lost a close family member to the conflict, presented their own reasons for joining the PCFF, as well as the internal process of choosing to dedicate their lives to spreading the message of non-violence and of reconciliation.
At the height of the event, the women sprayed graffiti on a 10-meter long makeshift wall. The women then brought down the wall as a symbol for the refusal to have someone or something separate them or stand between them and their desire for respect, compassion and a better future of their children, and as a symbol for their shared wish to end the conflict.
The event ended with a silent march towards the nearby checkpoint, at the end of which they lit a candle in memory of all the children, brothers, sisters, parents and relatives who lost their lives to the conflict.
International Women’s Day 2015: “Together In Pain, United In Hope”
An event that took place at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque on 8 March 2015, entitled “We, who have paid the highest price of all, give our voices to life”. Hundreds of people, Israelis and Palestinians, came to the event to meet the other side, and to call for change in the current situation and to find a solution for it.
At the opening of the event, the participants were invited to look at the new installation of the PCFF – a monument to the future victims of the conflict, created through the joint work of Baumann Ber Rivnay advertising agency and artist Gili Godiano. The monument is scattered with peep holes through which gravestones of victims of the conflict are reflected, all of which read: “We don’t want you here”.
The participants called on President Reuven (Rubi) Rivlin and Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), to do everything within their power to renew the peace talks and end the conflict.
Singer Dalia Shaham sang the song: “A walk to Caeserea”, and singer Miriam Toukan, sang John Lennon’s famous song “Imagine”.
In this event, the Women’s Group sought to raise public awareness to the importance of dialogue and acquaintance, the need for mutual understanding and reconciliation, and for understanding the significant role women play in this process.
Monument to the future victims of the conflict
