The 19th Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony

This year the 19th annual joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony was organized by Combatants for Peace and the Bereaved Families Forum. It is the only one of its kind and it is the largest Israeli-Palestinian jointly organized peace event. Last year over 15,000 people were in attendance physically and around 200,000 virtually from all around the world.
Our ceremony is radically different from the typical ceremonies that promote a narrative that war and death are inevitable and necessary. Instead, the joint memorial event is a unique opportunity for Israelis and Palestinians to grieve together and stand united in demanding an end to the bloodshed. In mourning together, we seek not to equate experiences, but rather transform despair into hope and build compassion around our shared humanity. We remind ourselves and the world that occupation, oppression, and conflict are not inevitable.

The Joint Nakba Remembrance Ceremony

The Joint Nakba Remembrance Ceremony is a unique opportunity to commemorate the pain and tragedy of the Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic), when in 1948 more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes, became refugees and had their villages and cities destroyed. The ceremony started as the sister event to the annual Israeli-Palestinian Joint Memorial Ceremony.

In Israel, even mentioning the word “Nakba” is completely taboo, however we believe that peace and reconciliation involves a sincere and honest reckoning with this history that didn’t end in 1948 but continues until this day. In the aftermath of October 7th, a second Nakba has been unfolding in Gaza. There are around 1.9 million people currently displaced in the Gaza strip and many of their homes have been destroyed by Israel’s brutal attacks. This mass displacement brings back terrible memories of the events of 1948 for many Palestinians.

Combatants for Peace understands that to end the occupation and find a solution to the conflict, we must listen with empathy to each other’s stories and acknowledge injustice in order to achieve true liberation.

This year, we centered the ceremony around the theme of “liberation” – how do we liberate ourselves from occupation, oppression and violence? What does liberation look like and how do we begin to heal from our past and present trauma?

About Us

Combatants for Peace is a grassroots movement of Israelis and Palestinians, working together to end the occupation and bring peace, equality and freedom to our homeland. Committed to joint nonviolence since our inception, we use civil resistance, education and other creative means of activism to transform systems of oppression and build a free and peaceful future from the ground up.

Launched in 2006, we are the only movement worldwide that was founded by former fighters on both sides of an active conflict. As a result, we were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 and 2018.

VISION: We believe in a future where all people live in peace with dignity, justice, and liberty.

MISSION: Combatants for Peace (CfP) is a joint Palestinian-Israeli community working in solidarity to end the occupation, discrimination, and oppression of all people living on this land. Guided by the values of nonviolent resistance, we are showing the world that there is another way.

Palestine & Israel
Combatants for Peace is led by a Leading Circle, which is similar to a Board of Directors. The Leading Circle guides all movement management, direction and vision. The Israeli staff works out of the Tel Aviv office, while the Palestinian staff works out of the Beit Jala office. Together, the staff provides the infrastructure and financial support to provide for the movement. The Activities Circle coordinate all movement activism, campaigns and lead the Regional Groups of local activists.