Against all odds, Israelis and Palestinians mark 20th joint Memorial Day ceremony
Mousa Hetawi speaks at the joint Memorial Day ceremony via video conference, 29 April 2025
+973 reports on 29 April 2025:
This year marks the 20th Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Ceremony, held annually on the eve of Israel’s Memorial Day. Organized by Combatants for Peace and the Parents Circle – Families Forum, the ceremony brings together bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost loved ones to mourn together — and to call for an end to bloodshed, war, and occupation.
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Below are a few excerpts from the speeches that were delivered on stage this evening.
“Despite the separation wall and the checkpoints that seek to divide us, we are here, on the same land, in the same country,” said Sayel Jabareen, an activist with Combatants for Peace. “As Palestinians, we watch this ceremony with hearts heavy from pain and wounds. Pain is not new to us; it is an old companion, inhabiting our homes and our dreams. But we are here today to affirm that our humanity allows us to recognize the pain of others without turning away from our own suffering.
“We live in extraordinary times. For more than a year and a half, we’ve been living through a war that threatens annihilation and shows no mercy,” he continued. “Still, we hold on to our shared struggle, because we have no other path. We don’t forget those we’ve lost, and we do not ignore the ongoing injustice. But we open a window of hope toward a future built not on blood, but on justice, dignity, and freedom for all.”
Mousa Hetawi, a West Bank resident who witnessed his cousin being shot dead by an Israeli soldier, and lost dozens of family members in Israeli bombardment in Gaza, said: “I’m 38 years old, and my life has been filled with loss and pain under the shadow of occupation. My family is scattered between the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, inside Israel, and the diaspora, like most Palestinian families.