From Israel and Palestine
Bassam & Rami
Bassam Aramin & Rami Elhanan
An Israeli soldier killed Bassam’s daughter; a Palestinian bomber killed Rami’s daughter. The two grieving fathers met when they sought help at Parents Circle-Families Forum, a group that aids Palestinians and Israelis who have lost loved ones in the conflict. “I saw people who paid the highest price possible, who chose the way of dialogue instead of hatred,” Rami remembers. “…I’m ashamed to say, I was 47 years old at the time. It was the first time ever in my life that I met Palestinians as human beings, as people who carry the same burden that I do, as people who suffer exactly the same way. I was completely shocked. …I discovered people like Bassam Aramin, who is, for me, more than a brother today. And the old Rami could never have met him.” In the film, Bassam – the co-founder of Combatants for Peace – and Rami share how the deaths of their daughters changed their lives.
Robi
Robi Damelin
Robi’s son David was a peace activist and student at Tel Aviv University before he was conscripted into the Israeli Defense Force. He was shot and killed by a sniper while stationed at a roadside checkpoint. Robi now works as a spokesperson with the The Parents Circle-Families Forum, a group that helps Palestinians and Israelis who have lost loved ones in the conflict. “It’s strange,” she recalls, “because when the army had come to tell me that David had been killed, the first, apparently, thing I had said is, ‘You may not kill anybody in the name of my child.’” In Beyond Right & Wrong, Robi discusses the letter she sent to the sniper’s family and his public response justifying the murder of David and nine others.
