Bereaved Israelis and Palestinians gathered at an undisclosed location in Israel for the 21st joint Memorial Day ceremony, with screenings in the West Bank and around the world, as relatives of Oct. 7 victims and survivors of the Gaza war declared: 'This reality is not an eternal fate'

About a thousand Israelis and Palestinians gathered on Monday night to mark Memorial Day together, and mourn the lives lost on both sides of the conflict in a joint ceremony, held simultaneously in Israel and the West Bank.

It was organized by The Parents Circle – Families Forum and Combatants for Peace, an organization of Israelis and Palestinians who lost family to the conflict.

The event, which is now in its 21st year, was hosted by journalist Sivan Tehel and human rights activist Ibrahim Abu Ahmad.

"This year, we're gathering as the war still rages around us, and takes victims from Israel and Palestine," said Abu Ahmad. "From the ruins, we're daring to ask how we can continue onward - how 'the day after' will look."

Outside the auditorium entrance were rows of electric candles, each marked with a sticker in English and Hebrew or Arabic with the name of a life taken by the conflict. "We, who have lost those dearest to us, are choosing today to stand together, to mourn and remember," read a placard beside the candles. "And as we do each year, we call for an end to the violence and demand a diplomatic solution that will bring peace, justice and security to all."

The ceremony was held at two central locations, linked together virtually. The Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv, and the Palestinians in Jericho. Before October 7, when entry permits into Israel were less difficult for Palestinians to obtain, Israeli and Palestinian participants would attend the ceremony together in Tel Aviv, drawing thousands.

Due to limits by the Israeli government on Palestinian visas and right-wing opposition, they are now held separately – and virtually. The event was also livestreamed to venues and private homes.

Omar Filali, who led the ceremony in Jericho, addressed the crowd gathered in Tel Aviv. Despite the ethnic cleansing and violence, he said, we must work toward "a future not built on bloodshed, but equality, freedom and dignity for all."

Among the about 800 attendees in Tel Aviv were Hadash Knesset Members Ofer Cassif and Ayman Odeh, who greeted activists and shook hands with admirers in the hall. The event began after the traditional minute of silence, marked by nationwide sirens as Memorial Day begins.

In her speech at the ceremony, Liora Eylon, whose son Tal was killed by Hamas in Kibbutz Kfar Azza on October 7, described a recurring vision of Tal sitting "up above" with a Palestinian also killed in the conflict, the two of them sharing coffee and exchanging stories.

"If only those down below knew how simple it is to be together," she imagined them saying to one another, and asking, "Tell me, how did you die? And you?"

Eylon said she tries to live the partnership she wishes existed between the two peoples: "A partnership through which, perhaps one day, I will sit by Tal's grave - my beloved son - and whisper to the cold stone: 'Do you hear, my son? It happened. We are speaking and living together in partnership and equality, and we were part of that change.'"

Nahil Hanuna, a photographer from Gaza who lost her brother, sister-in-law and members of her husband's family in the war, spoke in a video message of a dream she carries with her everywhere. "We Palestinians are human beings like anyone else," she said. "We were not created to spend our lives in war, hostility, and displacement ... We want to raise our children safely and watch them grow without fear."

She said the religions of the region all carry the same message: "God created us to build this world - not to destroy it."

"For heaven's sake - what have I done to bear all this pain and suffering?" said Khulud Houshiya, a Palestinian mother from the West Bank whose son was killed during an Israeli military raid in Jenin and whose other son remains in detention, without trial.

"Despite all this pain, I stand here today to say that we have chosen the path of peace after all these losses. Because we believe that bloodshed only begets more bloodshed, and that killing and loss will not give us, or our children, the chance to live in peace," she said as members of the audience dried their eyes.

Ayala Metzger, whose 80-year-old father-in-law Yoram was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in Hamas captivity, said she decided to "fight to create a reality here that allows safe lives for everyone," so that "his life would not be in vain."

Muhammad Da'das, whose 15-year-old nephew was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in Nablus in 2021, said in his video address: "Enough pain … enough loss … enough bleeding. We are here because, despite our wounds, we have chosen to raise our voices, and to believe that this reality is not an eternal fate."

The organizers also screened a video titled "Home," featuring testimonies from Palestinians displaced by settlers or whose houses were destroyed by Israeli security forces, and Israelis whose houses were destroyed by Palestinian militants on October 7 and by Iranian missiles.

The location of the ceremony was not sent to registrants until the day of the event out of security concerns. In recent years, the event has drawn right-wing protesters who believe the ceremony to be disrespectful to the memories of terror victims and fallen soldiers – or an act of solidarity with their killers.

Last year, at a screening of the ceremony at a Reform synagogue in the city of Ra'anana, right-wing protesters stormed the event, throwing stones and firecrackers at participants. Although the organizers had warned the police that there were threats against the event, they had only sent a small presence to guard it.

Tamar, a 17-year-old from Tel Aviv, said that it was her fourth year attending the event. Although she hasn't lost an immediate family member to the conflict, "I think that being a part of it is really important to me, and it gives me a lot of hope," she said.

The first time she took part was before October 7, in an event attended by thousands at Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park. "It was so moving, it was enormous," she said. In past years, they held screenings of the event at home with friends. Although the event is now smaller, "the fact that they managed to keep this going, even after the events of October 7, and despite the security situation – it's so special that they managed to keep this alive."