Parents Circle–Families Forum Encourages People to Listen with Empathy
Read how Israeli and Palestinian families are using empathy and dialogue to build understanding—and how educators can bring these lessons into classrooms.
By Alvin Buyinza
In a Saturday morning session at the AFT convention, delegates and guests from international unions learned about resources that will help them foster empathetic, meaningful dialogues—and hopefully reduce the growing polarization in the United States. The session featured a conversation with Robi Damelin, an 80-year-old Israeli mother, and Mohamed Abu Jafar, an intensive care nurse from Palestine, who are tied together by the grief of losing a loved one because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was moderated by Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, the former longtime spiritual leader of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City (and wife of AFT President Randi Weingarten).
In a world that is so deeply divided, where people struggle to see humanity in each other, Damelin and Abu Jafar spoke about the importance of listening with empathy and understanding. This is part of their work with the Parents Circle – Families Forum, a grassroots organization of Palestinian and Israeli families who have lost family members in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The AFT has partnered with PCFF to adapt its program Listening from the Heart for Share My Lesson. PCFF created the program to help communities foster transformational conversations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will help with compassion and reconciliation.
We are very dedicated to this notion that you alleviate fear by creating understanding.
Sharing Loss, Sharing Humanity
In 2002, Damelin’s son David was fatally shot by a Palestinian sniper while he was at a checkpoint during his army reserve service. In that same year, Abu Jafar’s younger brother was killed by Israeli tank fire. Both have used their pain to talk about ways we can advocate for reconciliation and restorative justice.
Before PCFF, Abu Jafar only knew Israelis as soldiers. One day, a few years after his brother was killed, he came home to find two Israeli women at his house with his mother—one was Damelin. They were from PCFF. His mother found value in their approach of listening and empathizing, but Abu Jafar was skeptical.
In this world of polarization and side-taking, surely it is time to be part of the solution and not the problem.
At his first PCFF meeting, Abu Jafar found it nearly impossible to stay in the same room with a former Israeli soldier. Then, as the participants shared details about their lives, the former soldier said he was a peace activist. For Abu Jafar, it was a transformational moment: “For the first time in my life, I saw Israelis as human beings.” Abu Jafar says he understood that this former soldier was “fighting for people to have their freedom, and this is what changed my life.” He’s been active with PCFF ever since.
While being open about how they have struggled with grief, Abu Jafar and Damelin both offered messages of hope. “In this world of polarization and side-taking,” Damelin said, “surely it is time to be part of the solution and not the problem.”
Listening from the Heart Educator Resources
The Parents Circle created Listening from the Heart, an innovative dialogue and education program designed for schools, universities, and community groups. It combines powerful video testimonies from bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families with structured activities and reflection tools, helping participants engage with difficult conversations in a way that fosters empathy, critical thinking, and constructive dialogue.
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The AFT was formed by teachers more than 100 years ago and is now a 1.8 million-member union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for our students, their families and our communities. We are... See More
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