For Many Palestinians, Myself Included, the Trauma of 1948 Is Not Over – It Continues in Gaza, in the West Bank and in Israel. Two weeks ago, I walked through the streets of Haifa – not as a tourist, but as the grandchild of a Palestinian family that was expelled from its home in the city in 1948. I grew up hearing stories about that loss: stories of a home that lived on only in memory of the Nakba. But this time, it felt different. As sunlight fell over the same harbor my grandfather once described with such longing, I felt something shift. The past was no longer distant. It was real, present and deeply personal.

Yet we still gathered to celebrate a seder this spring. We lit the candles, set a glass for Elijah, and recounted our ancient story of oppression and freedom. We also heard about the time my mother was saved by a Jewish officer of the Red Army in the chaotic days after the Nazis fled Bucharest. We heard about the Mayor and Bishop of Zakynthos who, ordered by the Gestapo to prepare a list of all the Jews on the island, returned with a list that had only two names on it: their own. Meanwhile, all the Jews were taken up into the mountains and saved by their fellow-islanders. We heard about my oldest son’s encounter with Nelson Mandela when he came to Toronto. We heard how a Micmac woman preserved her language in residential school by sneaking out to the nearby fields and telling Micmac stories to the ladybugs. We passed around a soul-chilling bill of sale from the 1830s for a young, enslaved man named Solomon. We told about Sulaiman Khatib, a Palestinian jailed for 10 years at the age of 14 who read Anne Frank, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, renounced violence, and came out to co-found Nobel Peace Prize nominee Combatants for Peace. Story by story, we remembered our connections to the events in Egypt, and that the need for liberation remains as urgent and difficult today as it was then. 

Twenty years ago, that ethos of dialogue and joint experiences helped spawn an alternative event that takes place annually alongside Israel’s official ceremonies on the Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror. The Parents Circle – Families Forum and another fellow Israeli-Palestinian organization, Combatants for Peace, now annually hold a joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial, which brings together Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones in the conflict. This year’s ceremony will be held Tuesday evening in Tel Aviv and broadcast at 160 locations across Israel, the Palestinian territories, and around the world.

It has long been controversial among both Jews and Arabs, and there have been attempts to protest or disrupt the ceremony, which, conducted in both Hebrew and Arabic, commemorates Palestinian and Israeli victims side by side.

I write these words from the deepest pain a human being can endure. Over the past year, I've lost 160 members of my extended family - men, women and children. All of them were civilians. All of them were unarmed. They were killed in airstrikes and shootings during the war in Gaza. Within minutes, entire generations of the Helou family were wiped out: Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews - all killed in their homes.

A new survey conducted among Israeli and Palestinian peace activists reveals a remarkable level of resilience and determination to continue working toward reconciliation, even in the wake of the October 7 attacks and the ongoing war in Gaza. The survey sampled a narrow size of participants from two organizations.The survey focused on how the ongoing war in Gaza and the events of October 7 have affected collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian peace activists within these two organizations.The survey, carried out among 221 activists from peace NGOs Combatants for Peace and the Parents Circle – Families Forum, found that 87% of respondents did not consider abandoning their peace efforts following the escalation of violence. The findings were released ahead of the Joint Israeli-Palestinian Remembrance Day Ceremony, which will take place on April 29, marking the event’s 20th anniversary.

Recently, a delegation of peacebuilders visited Athens, as part of a program supported by the European Union. Its core objective is to challenge the narrative that there is no political solution to the Middle East conflict…Like others in the delegation, Khatib frequently invokes the term “trauma” to describe the situation in his homeland. He is not alone. What emerges is a portrait of two deeply traumatized societies locked in mutual hostility. “There is a complete blindness of one side to another,” said Bar-Yacoov. “We need to break that.” Khatib agreed with the analysis and offered a path forward: “We need collective liberation.”

Dr. Maynard Seider's article Searching for Signs of Peace After October 7th: Combatants for Peace recounts his journey to Israel and Palestine, where he engaged with former combatants from both sides who have committed to nonviolent activism. Through visits to sites deeply affected by conflict—Bethlehem, Hebron, the Gaza border, and Masafer Yatta—he witnessed the dire economic and humanitarian conditions, as well as the resilience of those advocating for a just peace. The testimonies of Israeli and Palestinian members of Combatants for Peace highlighted their transformation from armed fighters to peace activists, emphasizing the concept of Sumud (steadfastness) in their struggle. Despite the heightened tensions following October 7th, the movement continues its mission, taking joint action and fostering hope through co-resistance, solidarity, and grassroots action to end the occupation and co-create another way.

In this episode of Nonviolence Radio, we talk with Sulaiman Khatib and Chen Alon from Combatants for Peace, along with filmmaker Stephen Apkon, director of There Is Another Way, a powerful new documentary about their movement currently touring the world to spark new conversations about a lasting peace in Israel-Palestine. Former fighters from opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Sulaiman and Chen share their personal transformations and the deep commitment to nonviolence that drives their work. They discuss the challenges of breaking cycles of violence, the power of storytelling, and how nonviolence is not just a strategy but a daily choice. This conversation will leave you thinking about what it truly means to choose peace, even when it seems impossible.

Given the brutality of the recent conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, it has become increasingly difficult to imagine a durable peace. Yet, that remains the aim of a remarkable grassroots organization called Combatants for Peace.

The organization, which has been nominated for two Nobel Peace Prizes, is made up of Israelis and Palestinians who once embraced violence but have since turned to peace and dialogue as the only solution to healing the wounds of both communities.

Several of the members of Combatants for Peace were invited to UN Headquarters at the end of January by the UN Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions, including Mai Shahin and Elik Elhanan.

Oscar winner James Cameron has signed on to executive produce “There Is Another Way,” a 67-minute documentary about a grassroots group of Palestinians and Israelis working together through non-violent means to build a social infrastructure to end conflict and occupation. The doc, which has screened at numerous film festivals worldwide, will open theatrically in San Francisco and San Rafael, Calif. on March 13.

“There Is Another Way,” directed by Stephen Apkon, follows Combatants for Peace, a community of former enemy combatants based in Palestine and Israel who are working together during an ongoing armed conflict to promote peace through generous listening and empathy.

Two former combatants on opposing sides of the decades-old conflict between Palestinians and Israel have come to together to discuss how Israeli Jews and Palestinians can live side by side in peace. Given the brutality of the recent conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, it has become increasingly difficult to imagine a durable peace. Yet, that remains the aim of a remarkable grassroots organization called Combatants for Peace. The organization, which has been nominated for two Nobel Peace Prizes, is made up of Israelis and Palestinians who once embraced violence but have since turned to peace and dialogue as the only solution to healing the wounds of both communities.

What would you do if you lost a loved one to war, violence, or oppression? How does one recognize shared humanity with others in a time of tragedy and anger? Combatants for Peace (CfP), has taken on the challenge of nonviolent activism and acknowledging mutual humanity in the face of immense pain. Combatants for Peace was founded by Israeli and Palestinian former combatants who laid down their weapons to seek a peaceful, equitable future side-by-side. Committed to a third way, CfP prioritizes the needs, rights, and safety of all people living in Israel-Palestine and dedicates their energy to co-resisting the occupation and transforming oppression through nonviolence.

We sat down with Rana Salman, Co-Director of Combatants for Peace, and Ameera, Palestinian Co-Director at Tomorrow’s Women Leadership Programs for Young Palestinian and Israeli Women, two thoughtful and impressive women who are on the frontlines of efforts to raise awareness about the occupation and create a vision for peace. In this special episode, filmed in Beit Jala in Area C of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), in one of the few areas where Palestinians and Israelis can meet, Elana and Fakhira spoke with Rana and Ameera about their work, their experiences, their challenges to be involved in peace-building efforts, their beliefs about nonviolence, women’s contributions to peace, and their vision for a better future.

Growing up in East Jerusalem during the Second Intifada, Mai Shahin’s childhood wasn’t easy. She was stopped and held by soldiers on her way to school. She saw home raids and increased separation. Even after she joined peace protests during those early years, she saw violent clashes with the military in the streets, and support for violent resistance was growing. But a job working as a translator showed Mai a challenging world, the world of Combatants for Peace. Founded by former armed combatants, Combatants for Peace calls for a different approach. Learn more in our latest interview with Mai Shahin.

The Freedom School of Faith is a pilot programme run jointly by three activist organisations: Combatants for Peace, Ir Amim and Breaking the Silence. These NGOs have run programs for non-religious Israelis since 2019, aiming to teach young participants about the occupation – which they won’t learn about elsewhere – and give them the tools and community to take action. But this is their first time engaging with the religious community, which tends to be underrepresented in anti-occupation activism frameworks.

Christiane Amanpour speaks with May Pundak, co-director of A Land for All, and Rana Salman, co-director of Combatants For Peace, on working for a better future between Israelis and Palestinians.

Since October 7, Israeli settlers have targeted the al-Auja stream in a Palestinian town in the West Bank, blocking locals from their source of water. A group of Israelis and Palestinians from Combatants for Peace marching at the site are determined to 'sanctify life' over dispossession and war.

Our guests this week are Rana Salman and Eszter Koranyi. They are the Palestinian and Israeli Executive Directors of Combatants for Peace, an organization of Palestinians and Israelis working in solidarity to end the occupation and all forms of oppression, guided by the values of nonviolent resistance, and showing themselves and the world there is another way possible. 

They share their personal stories of discovering the power of nonviolence to enact lasting change, about the costs of committing to nonviolence in a world that seeks easy answers, and about the possibility of mutual flourishing in the region—even right now. 

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave an address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, many Democratic lawmakers skipped the speech and held an alternative event on Capitol Hill to promote peace. The panel discussion featured Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah, Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers who have both lost family members to violence. Inon’s parents were killed in the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. When Abu Sarah was a child, his teenage brother was arrested and held in Israeli prison for a year and died shortly after his release from internal injuries he suffered while being tortured in prison. Both Inon and Abu Sarah join Democracy Now! to talk about how they are hoping to use these tragedies to foster peace in Israel-Palestine. Aziz is an AFCFP board member.

Formed 18 years ago, the group Combatants for Peace began bringing together former combatants from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide – emphasizing the all-too-rare-approaches of dialogue, understanding, and community building. Correspondent Seth Doane talks with participants (including an Israeli military veteran and a former member of Hamas) who now seek purpose through cooperation.

After years of ignoring the conflict last week, the G7 released a communique which included unprecedented new language prioritising civil society peacebuilding as a critical component of any diplomatic resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, write Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah (AFCFP Board Member).

How did October 7th impact activists in Israel and Palestine? dis:orient talked to a Palestinian and an Israeli member of the binational organization Combatants for Peace about education, solidarity, and continuing work amidst the war in Gaza.

There are Israelis and Palestinians who reach across the divides to mourn together and declare that war between their two peoples is not the inevitable cost of securing a Jewish state or creating a Palestinian one.

Maoz Inon, whose parents were killed on October 7, and Aziz Abu Sarah, who lost his brother in the second Intifada, addressed Pope Francis in front of a crowd of 13,000.

Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, virtually addressed Combatants For Peace's joint Nakba remembrance ceremony on Wednesday, saying "I know the Nakba never ended.”

“You can’t kill anybody in the name of my child,” was one of the first things Robi Damelin said when Israeli army officers arrived at her door to inform her of the killing of her son, David, in March 2002.

Israelis and Palestinians joining together for any reason during these days of war is rare. Some did for a memorial ceremony honoring victims from all sides of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Hear from NPR’s Daniel Estrin.

As Israel commemorates Memorial Day in the midst of seven months of war, FRANCE 24's Nadia Massih is joined by our correspondent Irris Makler and our guests from Combatants for Peace: Co-Directors Eszter Koranyi in Jerusalem and Rana Salman in Bethlehem.

“Many people have woken up to the reality that this conflict cannot go on,” said a director of one Israeli peace-building group, referring to the decades of violence.

‘No matter how many people you lose,’ said a Palestinian who has seen 61 relatives killed in Gaza, ‘The feeling is the same.’ Ahmed Alhelou of Jericho is among the speakers at Israel’s joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony. Israel won’t let him enter the country from the occupied West Bank, so he gave his remarks via video.

Controversial Memorial Day commemoration, filmed in advance this year, will be virtual to avoid having all-Israeli crowd, with West Bank Palestinians barred from Israel since Oct. 7

Since Israelis' lives were engulfed in horror on October 7, a catastrophe that has yet to end for Palestinians in Gaza, we bereaved families from both sides of the conflict are coming together to remember the innocent children whose only crime was being Palestinian or Israeli.

Voices on both sides that call for peace with justice are arguably displaying more courage and better leadership than that shown so far by Israel’s government or the militarists of Hamas.

CfP activist and staff member, Carly Rosenthal, from the pro-peace, anti-occupation NGO Combatants for Peace, spoke to Haaretz Podcast about CfP’s 19-year-old tradition of offering an alternative memorial ceremony to the government-sponsored event, which allows "Israelis and Palestinians to mourn together, to grieve for their loved ones that they've lost throughout the conflict."

On May 12, Yom Hazikaron eve, this year as every year for the past 18, the Joint Memorial Service will take place commemorating Israelis and Palestinians who died due to the decades-old conflict in which we are embroiled.

In an op-ed for Peace News, Co-CEO of CfP Rana Salman discusses the need for a non-military solution to the conflict, as well as her and her colleagues' work to promote their organization's mission around the world.

On March 31, 2024, Uri Noy Meir hosted a conversation with Combatants for Peace Co-Founder Sulaiman Khatib and School of Ancestral Medicine founder Dr. Daniel Foor about the current situation and the potential future for the Middle East and beyond.

Skidmore College and MLK Saratoga hosted members of Combatants for Peace to lead a discussion on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East with students and faculty.

Palestine-Israel: from one story to more than one story, from us vs them to togetherness, from cycle of violence to nonviolence, towards a Collective Liberation

Positions have hardened on both sides in the face of the Gaza war, but some activists refuse to give up hope. They let us sit in on one of their meetings.

“If we punch a hole in this boat, we will all sink together.” Activists May Pundak of @2States1Homelan and Rana Salman of @cfpeace discuss their enduring dream for Middle East peace, even as explosions ring out while we speak. “Our lives are intertwined,” they say.

With Israel and Palestine experiencing the worst violence in decades, we speak with two co-founders of Combatants for Peace, a group composed of people from both sides of the conflict who have committed to nonviolence and peaceful coexistence. Avner Wishnitzer is a former member of Sayeret Matkal, one of the Israel Defense Forces’ elite commando units, and Sulaiman Khatib spent more than 10 years in prison after being arrested as a teenager for an attack on Israeli soldiers.

Hamas’s attack on Israel and Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza have already caused colossal destruction and anguish. Some 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas on October 7. In the more than six weeks since, at least 13,000 people, according to some estimates, have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli army. Fear and hatred are everywhere here.

A younger generation of Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers want to be part of the dialogue about the "day after" the war, when Israelis and Palestinians must grapple again with how to live side by side.

“We were never each other’s enemies… And yes, there is a trauma. But we have so many beautiful psychologists, you know. If we meet we heal. Only when we meet will we both sleep safe. Only when we meet will our kids dream and play in front of our eyes. Only when we meet.” That is Mai Shahin, therapist and Palestinian peace activist speaking to A Public Affair host Esty Dinur from her home in East Jerusalem/Ezariya Westbank.

Former fighters Chen Alon and Sulaiman Khatib could have found themselves on opposite sides of a battle. Instead, they joined forces to fight for peace. The latest violence has put their efforts to the test.

In January 2007, Bassam Aramin’s 10-year-old daughter was shot dead by Israeli soldiers. She had just gone out to buy sweets with her sister and two friends. Aramin was devastated.

Despite some disturbance by a group of hecklers who were kept away by police officers, the ceremony proceeded without notable incidents.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's refusal to let bereaved Palestinian families enter Israel to participate in memorial ceremony is opposed by the attorney general