Beyond Conflict partners with Nobel-nominated PCFF project for bereaved Israeli and Palestinian women

Beyond Conflict is delighted to announce it has partnered with the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated Parents Circle Family Forum (PCFF), a grassroots NGO made up of more than 850 bereaved Israeli and Palestinian mothers and other women who have lost family members.

This project brings together women from both sides together to address their war trauma and grief to promote reconciliation, dialogue and peace building. PCFF has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026.

Healing through shared dialogue

PCFF has worked since its formation in 1995 to create “safe and transformative” spaces for the bereaved to share personal narratives and promote understanding. Their work aims to stop the cycle of fear and violence by humanising the other side.

PCFF is run by a joint Israeli-Palestinian board and bi-national team, operating from offices in Beit Jala and Ramat Ef’al.

Edna Fernandes, Beyond Conflict Co-Founder and Director, said: “Beyond Conflict is delighted and honoured to support the work of PCFF which provides specially curated programmes that allow grieving mothers and other women and children from both sides to share stories, address war-related trauma and facilitate healing between the two sides through dialogue, reconciliation and peace- building measures. It is a painful but necessary process to promote understanding and humanise the ’other side’. Only by working to break the cycle of hate can we hope for peace.”

Gillian Dare OBE, BC Chair, said: “Beyond Conflict is very pleased to announce that we will be working with the Parents Circle Families Forum on a programme to support families of both Israelis and Palestinians who have lost children and other family members though the Gaza-Israel conflict. At a time when all the news is about hatred and division, PCFF sheds a wonderful light on two communities coming together to support each other through the trauma of loss and grief.”

Dr Caroline Elton, Chair of UK FCPP, said: “The Forum organises a number of different projects including a Women’s Group that brings together bereaved mothers from both sides. The group creates a unique space where together, bereaved women can acknowledge loss, build solidarity, and transform private grief into public action.

Whilst the conversations are often angry, raw and painful, participants gain solace from the knowledge that collectively they are challenging the narrative that the cycle of violence is inevitable. In this way, they feel that something positive could potentially emerge from the trauma they have all experienced. The success of the group depends on the input from skilled facilitators, therapists and translators. The generous support of Beyond Conflict will play a vital role in allowing the Women’s Group to continue.”

Key elements

• 2-3 uni-national meetings for Israeli women and a 3-day workshop for Palestinian women with 20-40 participants in each meeting will address specific needs within each community and themes relevant to their social and political context.
• 4 bi-national meetings, with 30-50 women participating in each, will include cultural exchange and discussions on social and cultural practices in Israel/Palestine and strengthen social bonds. This deep acquaintance with the “other side” will enhance group collaboration towards shared goals, transforming feelings of helplessness or the need for revenge into a sense of purpose, which helps alleviate psychological distress. 
• CFF women members will facilitate Dialogue Meetings, webinars, and other events for the general public, which will be conducted in-person or online. This will also include Dialogue Meetings and webinars for international audiences
• The PCFF media team will develop and produce publications with women participants for dissemination.

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This project with PCFF replaces BC’s previously announced Israeli hostage project with United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA), after they informed us they were unable to deliver under the original terms we agreed due to changed circumstances on the ground. We hope to work with UJIA in another capacity and BC remains proud of their work that we supported in 2024, which helped hundreds of young Israeli victims of the Nova attack in October 2023.