16: Being together: What’s the point?
By Skip Schiel

Photos: Palestinians who lost a family member to the violence, at Parents Circle-Families Forum, East Jerusalem; two musicians, Palestinian (L) & Israeli, at Daila, West Jerusalem, December 2004

Our feet stood within thy gates, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem built up, a city knit together.

--Psalms 122: 2-3

In the recent two weeks, I’ve been able to photograph two organizations dedicated in part to fostering connections between Palestinians and Israeli Jewish. Families Forum, aka, Bereaved Israeli and Palestinian Families, began when an Israeli Jew, Yitzhak Frankenthal , suffered the loss of a child to a Palestinian attack. Now while the numbers of dead and injured swell, the number of participants in Families Forum also swells—over 250 Israelis and 150 Palestinians. They organize summer camps for Israeli and Palestinian children of bereaved families; they sponsor a free phone line, Hello Shalom, Hello Peace, that connects Palestinians and Israelis with their opposite number who are of the peace and justice persuasion; and they brought some 1000 coffins to the United Nations in New York, the number of dead then from the present Intifada.

The father of this particular family that I photographed had lost a younger brother about 10 years ago. He asserts that the Israeli army planted a bomb, and then exploded it while children passed. The boy was 13 years old. Both his older brothers are in Families Forum, they brought their entire families from a small village west of Hebron to the symposium where I met them. One of the men told me, “I want my children to grow up knowing Israelis who work for peace. My kids have been to the summer camp and demand to return.”

The second organization, Daila (meaning “enough” in Hebrew, enough of occupation, enough of terrorism, etc), is a new outreach program of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions. The idea is to operate a coffee house in downtown West Jerusalem, the Jewish sector, that features events like movies, concerts, speeches, poetry and exhibits designed to bring in young Israelis (mostly, but also Palestinians) from the street. It will also serve as a forum for argument about the conflict and appropriate action. And indeed, on this Friday afternoon, about 20 people attended, some of them hearing the music from the street and dropping in. The musicians were part of Face to Face, bringing different factions together. The music did not always fuse, but the effort was admirable.

A standout musician was Ofer Golany , aka Guns2Guitars. He is a stalwart artist for peace and justice, you can find him music at the link below.

When I told a friend about Families Forum and other initiatives to foster connections, she reminded me that this tilts toward the normalization process that some use to prolong the conflict and while dodging the systemic problems of occupation and terror. Thus, I am left with the question: to what extent does this being together help foster peace, security and justice?

Parents Circle-Families Forum (1)

Parents Circle-Families Forum (2)

Daila

Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions

Guns2Guitars--

Israel and Europe on a `collision course,' Foreign Ministry warns by Haaretz staff, Haaretz, October 15, 2004

I have expanded this paired set for my website

I’ve archived all previous paired photos

This week’s recommended photographer of the Levant, Jean Mohr, Israelis and Palestinians: "Side by Side or Face to Face"