Peace & Justice Conversations: Israel/Palestine Peace Initiatives

Even while the news overflows with stories of violence in Israel and Palestine, there are people and organizations on the ground who remain committed to connection, justice, and peace. Parents Circle, Combatants for Peace and InterAct International are just three of the joint Israeli-Palestinian organizations persistently working for peace and a way forward centered around empathy and humanization. Join us to hear about this work from those who have been helping to support it: Beth Schuman, founder of American Friends of Combatants for Peace and Shiri Ourian, Executive Director of the American Friends of the Parents Circle: Bereaved Families for Peace.

Beth Schuman founded American Friends of Combatants for Peace ( https://www.afcfp.org/) in 2016, and served as the organization’s first Executive Director for seven years. During her tenure, Combatants for Peace grew from a virtually unknown NGO with a membership of around 50 activists, to an organization that regularly organizes events (in partnership with Parents Circle) of nearly 300,000 people, and has become a household name in the peace community and around the world. More recently Beth worked to launch the InterAct Education Center (https://www.iinteract.org/), a project of InterAct International, which is the non-profit arm of Mejdi Tours. Mejdi is a dual narrative political tour company organizing delegations to Israel/Palestine and other war-torn regions. Both AFCFP and Mejdi Tours are integral parts of the peace community on the ground in Israel-Palestine, and Beth is thrilled to share her experiences and expertise with us.

Shiri Ourian has been the Executive Director of the American Friends of the Parents Circle: Bereaved Families for Peace since 2013. Previously she was a communications and development consultant for progressive, non-profit organizations in Israel and the West Bank. She has a B.A. from Vassar College and an MPH from Hebrew University. The Parents Circle - Families Forum is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization made up of more than 700 bereaved families. Their common bond is that they have lost a close family member to the conflict. But instead of choosing revenge, they have chosen a path of reconciliation. As a joint Israeli-Palestinian peace organization, the PCFF models constructive dialogue around shared values. Even since October 7th, 2023, its staff, members, and thousands of participants are still committed to making peace together. American Friends of the Parents Circle – Families Forum shares the human side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the American public in order to foster a peace and reconciliation process.

Cosponsored by the American Friends Service Committee-NH Program

About NHPA’s bi-weekly Zoom Peace & Justice Conversation Series: 2020’s upheavals brought us to a new moment of reckoning and possibility. How do we want to live in the world? What do we value? How can we make the changes we’ve been yearning for? NH Peace Action has been engaged in working for change for decades. We’d like to bring you into these conversations about issues and options for the future. There is no charge to attend, but your contributions in any amount are greatly appreciated.