6 August 2023
We were outraged, but frankly not surprised, last week to learn that Israel’s Ministry of Education has decided to ban the Parents Circle – Bereaved Families for Peace from Israeli schools after twenty years in which the organization has run its curriculum enrichment programs there.
The far-right Netanyahu government, however, has now determined that the peace and reconciliation goals of the Parents Circle’s Dialogue Meeting program “are in contradiction to the values of the Education Ministry” and the program, therefore, must be expelled from Israel’s school system.
Partners for Progressive for decades has been a partner and supporter of the Parents Circle – Families Forum, which, by bringing together bereaved families on both sides of the conflict, has made an irreplaceable contribution to the Israel-Palestine peace movement. Indeed, a heartrending meeting with Parents Circle representatives has long been a staple in our annual Israel-Palestine Symposium program.
As a result, we’re indescribably troubled by this decision, which is yet another step by Netanyahu’s government toward an ultra-nationalist and antidemocratic Israeli future.
We urge you to add your name to this petition, run by the American Friends at Parents Circle – Families Forum. You can read the petition and add your name here. “Silencing the voices of bereaved Palestinians and Israelis who advocate for peace threatens Israeli democracy,” the petition reads. “We stand with the Parents Circle, supporting their important work in Israeli high schools over the past two decades.”
Thank you, sincerely, for your support and consideration.
Partners for Progressive Israel
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Students have the right to reach for the future they want. Not long for the past that you miss.
Devastating