‘Here is where hope lies’: Palestinians and Israelis mourn losses in joint ceremony
An Israeli-Palestinian women’s choir sings at the joint Memorial Day ceremony, 20 April 2026
+972 reports on 21 April 2026:
The 21st Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Ceremony, held annually on the eve of Israel’s Memorial Day and organized by Combatants for Peace and the Parents Circle–Families Forum, was held on Monday evening at an undisclosed location in Tel Aviv for the safety of participants. The ceremony offered bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families a rare space to jointly mourn loved ones lost to the conflict, and to raise their voices in calling for an end to war and Israeli occupation.
Since its inception in 2006, the ceremony has grown from a small gathering with a few dozen attendees into one of the largest joint Israeli-Palestinian peace initiatives. This year, it was broadcast live to more than 60 satellite screenings across Israel, the West Bank, Europe, North America, South Africa, and Australia.
Participants at the joint Memorial Day ceremony place candles carrying the names of loved ones lost to the conflict on a shelf, 20 April 2026
In recent years, the event has faced sustained opposition from Israeli authorities and right-wing groups, the former of which have rescinded permits of West Bank activists, blocking them from attending the Tel Aviv ceremony and prompting organizers to establish parallel events in Beit Jala and Jericho. Last year, far-right activists stormed a screening of the alternative ceremony at a Reform synagogue in the central Israeli city of Ra’anana, shouting slurs and hurling objects.
Although some of the screening locations were not announced publicly this year precisely for this reason, dozens of right-wing activists managed to locate one screening in south Tel Aviv, which they attempted to disrupt by playing loud music and chanting slurs including “death to leftists.” Earlier in the week, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi demanded that Israeli public broadcaster Kan not advertise the ceremony.