DePaul University Newsline > Sections > Campus and Community > Joint Palestinian-Israeli organization visits DePaul to promote dialogue, reconciliation

Joint Palestinian-Israeli organization visits DePaul to promote dialogue, reconciliation

Hear from bereaved family members who’ve lost loved ones in the conflict at event on Feb. 11

People standing in a circle.
The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF) is an organization of over 750 Israelis and Palestinian families whose loved ones have been killed in conflict. (Photo courtesy of PCFF)
Revenge, anger, even hatred would be understandable responses to losing a loved one in violent conflict. The members of The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF), an organization of over 750 Israelis and Palestinian families whose loved ones have been killed in conflict, have chosen reconciliation and peace.  

“They have taken the incredible stance that they believe that war is not the answer, and only through dialogue, humanization and understanding the other can we make real progress,” says Shiri Ourian, executive director of American Friends of the Parents Circle Families Forum, the U.S.-based arm of the organization. The PCFF promotes dialogue, reconciliation and peace through meetings, educational programming and the media.   

DePaul will host two PCFF members as practitioners in residence in February, Arab Aramin and Guy Elhanan, who each lost a sister in the conflict. They will share their experiences at an event open to all DePaul community members at St. Vincent de Paul Church on Feb. 11, 6 – 8 p.m. Registration is required. Please RSVP here.

Image with text of title of the event and two talking bubbles.
Arab Aramin and Guy Elhanan will share their stories at an event on Feb. 11.
“We are living through a period where people are being pitted against each other,” says David Wellman. He is director of the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy and a member of the Dialogue Collaborative Steering Committee, which are hosting the event. The College of Communication and Office of Mission and Ministry, as well as the departments of Political Science and International Studies are cosponsoring.   

“This event is an invitation and a challenge for people to ask themselves, ‘can I sit down with someone who I profoundly disagree with? And if I can’t, what do Guy and Arab see and understand that I don’t?” Wellman says. 

The event is an opportunity to hear the personal stories of those most profoundly harmed by conflict and how they choose reconciliation and dialogue.  

“We are honored to be partnering with DePaul on a unique model that we hope to see replicated at other universities with our two practitioners in residence,” says Ourian. “What we have to offer are the lived experiences of bereaved Palestinians and Israelis, walking the walk of reconciliation and restorative justice.” 

An opportunity to listen from the heart  

Since the attacks of Oct. 7 and war in Gaza, Ourian says she was inundated with requests for guidance from those experiencing the divisiveness and harm the conflict created for their communities in the U.S. and around the world.  

In collaboration with Georgetown University, the Parents Circle – Families Forum developed Listening from the Heart, an interactive educational program on how to meaningfully engage with others about the conflict with respect, empathy and understanding.  

Lior Ben-Zvi, a staff member of the AF-PCFF, will lead the Listening from the Heart workshop for 30 DePaul student leaders, and Aramin and Elhanan will share their stories. Space is limited. Please contact David Wellman (dwellman@depaul.edu) to nominate a student leader to participate.  

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to gain skills in facilitating dialogue across difference,” says Georgianna Torres Reyes, assistant vice president for Mission and Ministry, which is cosponsoring the program. “Together we will explore what lessons about reconciliation we can bring to campus.” 

Find out more about the Dialogue Collaborative on their website.