Parents Circle- Families Forum

In the evening we met a group called Parents Circle- Families Forum. It is a group of Palestinians and Israelis who have lost their children or family members to the violence.

We met Sihama Alwad and Aaron Barniyah. Sihama is a Palestinian. Aaron is an Israeli. Both of them have lost family members to the violence.

Sihama's mother was imprisoned for speaking out against the Israeli army's actions in the West Bank. Her brothers were arrested for resisting the army. She did not say how, it may or may not have involved violence. They were imprisoned for several years. One of Sihama's brothers, Yussef, fell in love with a female prisoner. He got out before she did. He had to pass the engagement ring to her through the barbed wire. Simaha described Yussef as her best friend. He was a person she could always talk to, who would always listen to her and be there for her.
Eventually Sihama's mother and Ali were released too. In 2000, a party was being planned for Ali. On his way home, he was shot by an Israeli settler. That same day, a soldier shot Yussef in the forehead as he was driving his car. Yussef died.

Aaron's son served in the Israeli army and went to fight in Lebanon. His dad describes him as a very intelligent and gifted young man. His name was Noam. Noam did not agree with Israel's policies in Lebanon but went to fight because he believed that as a citizen of a democracy, he must serve his country. He volunteered to defuse explosives. During the last few weeks of the war, he wore an antiwar badge on his uniform that he refused to take off. On April 12, 1999 at 4:29 PM Aaron and his wife received the news that he had been killed by a bomb laid by Hizbullah.

Sihama and Aaron suffered great loss. The fact they got through such tragedy is remarkable enough. Even more so is what they, and hundreds of other grieving Palestinian and Israeli parents across the region, chose to do with that loss. Parents Circle brings grieving family members together. Palestinians and Israelis see each other through the pain they have experienced. But the group does more. It speaks to youth on both sides, youth who are most likely to take up violence. Simaha and Aaron have spoken in many Israeli schools to high school students, sharing their stories. Many of these kids are only a year or two away before being drafted by the army. The students see that human beings are dying and suffering on each side. It is less easy to hate people you feel empathy for. Many Israeli young men and women have refused to serve in the armed forces, instead opting for prison terms.
Ali has went into the West Bank and spoken with young men in Palestinian armed groups, sharing his story and the stories of suffering Israelis. He spoke to 60 members of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed group that has carried out attacks against Israeli civilians. They have invited him to speak again. Many have since left the group.

I will keep Parents Circle-Families Forum in my prayers. They are doing a very courageous thing, working through their suffering to put a human face to the war and in some cases effectively convincing people on both sides to put down their guns- or refuse to take them up in the first place.

I pray that God works through them to bring peace to this suffering region. I also pray they find true and eternal peace in Jesus Christ.


If you want to learn more about this amazing group please check out this website: http://www.theparentscircle.com/default.asp