The PCFF has adopted this day and marks it every year with special activities of reconciliation and dialogue
We call upon the leaders to act in every possible way to bring peace to the region and to stop the cycle of hatred and violence
International Peace Day began as a personal initiative of British filmmaker Jeremy Gilley. Gilley called for an entire day without violence in the world, and to promote his initiative he set off on a journey where he met with different people and cultures around the globe. Thanks to Gilley’s successful journey, the UN adopted the idea and in UN Resolution 55/282, September 21 was formally declared a day of International Peace Day, or day of a global cease fire.
International Peace Day is currently understood as a day of a global cease fire and non-violence, a day when all the nations are invited to respect one another and avoid confrontation and hostility, to unite around the idea of peace and to give it priority through discussion and action. Around the world, this day is characterized by a variety of events, including concerts, prayers, school activities, initiatives, volunteering and additional local events.
The PCFF has also adopted this day and marks it every year with special activities of reconciliation and dialogue.
International Peace Day 2020
How Ironical that 2020 International Peace day on the 21st September, coincides with 20 years of the beginning of the 2nd Palestinian Intifada. The Parents Circle – Families Forum is marking these two conflicting events by illustrating the consequence of a conflict which should have ended years ago.
7 families who will never be the same, 7 empty rooms belonging to the ones they lost, before, during and after the Intifada. Read these 7 letters of love and hope and transformation – and be inspired to bring about change so that there will be no more empty rooms.
International Peace Day 2014
This day marked a peak in the activities of the PCFF. In June, 2014, just one day before Israel embarked on operation “Protective Edge” (Zuk Eitan), PCFF members reported to the Tel Aviv Cinematheque square, where they raised a Dialogue tent for discussions. In an adaptive manner to the discourse of over two months as part of the activity at the PCFF “Peace Square”, International Peace Day was marked that year by dialogue circles in Tel-Aviv Cinematheque. The event drew nearly 800 people, among them over 100 Palestinian participants, who had arrived to take part in the dialogue circles.
International Peace Day 2012 – I Want Peace Back In The Picture
“We invite the public to dream, speak, and think about peace from a new perspective!”
In an event that was held at the Magen David Square in the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv, PCFF women invited the public to join them and put peace back in the picture. The public was invited to have their photograph taken holding a sign that said: “I also want to put peace back in the picture”.
The goal of the campaign was to bring peace back into the public discourse in the Israeli and Palestinian societies, and called upon the leaders to act in every possible way to bring peace to the region and to stop the cycle of blood and hatred.
International Peace Day 2011 – “Blood Relations”, mutual blood donation project
In collaboration with the global advertising agency “Saatchi & Saatchi” and its Israeli representative, “Baumann Ber Rivnay”, the PCFF initiated a mutual Israeli-Palestinian blood drive event at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. The underlying rhetoric of the event was: “Would you hurt a person who has your blood running through their veins?”
The event drew many visitors and was a point of inspiration for hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians who participated in it.
The event emerged from a global competition entitled: “the impossible brief”, in which creative people from around the globe were asked to find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A video about the “Blood Relations” event
International Peace Day 2010
The event took place in Beit Jala with more than 200 Palestinian and Israeli participants. The day opened with a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the conflict, and continued with the PCFF granting the “Reconciliation Award” for outstanding contribution to the promotion of peace among the peoples.
The Award was granted to journalist Shlomi Eldar, for his journalistic work and his moving film “Precious Life”, and to Naseer El-Laham, Editor in chief of the “Maan” news agency operating out of Bethlehem for promoting moderate media reports between Israelis and Palestinians.
International Peace Day 2008
The PCFF chose the 2008 International Peace Day for commemorating our loved ones who died in the prolonged conflict. The day began with a visit of bereaved families in the village Ni’lin and in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. The day ended in a shared ceremony where the PCFF granted the ” Reconciliation Award” to individuals and organizations who work and contribute towards peace between Israelis and Palestinians in a unique way.