Editing Arab–Israeli peace projects (section)

=== The Parents Circle-Families Forum ===
[[The Parents Circle-Families Forum]] (PC-FF) is a grassroots organization of Palestinian and Israeli families who have lost immediate family members due to the conflict. Together, they transform their pain and bereavement into the catalyst for a joint mission of reconciliation and coexistence in the midst of ongoing violence.

PC-FF was founded in 1994 by Yitzhak Frankenthal whose son Arik was killed by the Hamas.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/ArtsAndCulture/Entertainment/Article.aspx?id=150044 "Leonard Cohen concert proceeds to benefit reconciliation work"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018122157/http://www.jpost.com/ArtsAndCulture/Entertainment/Article.aspx?id=150044 |date=October 18, 2012}}, ''Jerusalem Post''</ref> Today, PC-FF includes more than 500 members, half Israeli and half Palestinian.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/10/palestine-israel-peace-campaigners "She's Israeli, he's an Arab. War has made them like mother and son."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417235254/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/10/palestine-israel-peace-campaigners |date=April 17, 2012}}, ''The Observer''</ref> The members conduct dialogue sessions, give lectures, and engage in projects to support tolerance and reconciliation.

Parents Circle creates innovative projects to spread its message of hope and reconciliation. The Forum firmly believes that without reconciliation, there will only be a cease fire and not peace. PC-FF members from Israel and the Palestinian Territories regularly meet even under nearly impossible circumstances such as right after the Gaza war of 2008–09.<ref>[http://www.theparentscircle.com/ActivitiesMain.asp?id=290&sivug_id=19 Parents Circle Newsletter] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717022920/http://www.theparentscircle.com/ActivitiesMain.asp?id=290&sivug_id=19 |date=July 17, 2011}}</ref>

The PC-FF's flagship program for the general public is its educational program. High school "Dialogue Encounters" bring two forum members, one Israeli and one Palestinian to classrooms in Israel, East Jerusalem and the West Bank to talk to students about the possibility of peace and reconciliation. Close to 40,000 students are reached each year.<ref>[http://www.euromedalex.net/euromed-award/2009/runners-up Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418014423/http://www.euromedalex.net/euromed-award/2009/runners-up |date=April 18, 2012}}</ref>