Despite clashing with England-Germany, 70 Jewish and Muslim women attended a Nisa-Nashim event on line to hear Robi Damelin and Layla Alshekh from the Bereaved Families Forum, talk about losing their child to the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Robi, who lost her only son David, a young soldier, to a sniper, found a way forward through meeting Palestinian bereaved parents and committing to finding a way to come together.
Layla lost her 6 month old baby during the second intifada, after he had inhaled tear gas and was refused access to multiple hospitals by Israeli troops. It took 16 years before she was able to talk about her loss, which she did in the company of Israeli bereaved parents, saying it was like reopening the wound; “For the first time I felt we shared the same pain and shed the same tears”.
Praising Nisa-Nashim, and our focus on bringing Jewish and Muslim women together, Robi urged the British women not to import the conflict, asking us to be part of the solution, not the conflict.
To see so many people attend a zoom event which competed with England-Germany and supper time attested to the importance and power of Robi and Layla’s stories.
They made a huge impact on everyone in the room and showed what determined, loving women can achieve.
Here is the video of this inspiring event, a reminder that war is never the solution. Salam, Shalom.
https://youtu.be/uam078NzPoE