Every year, Israel observes Memorial Day, a day on which victims of terror and violence are commemorated. The organisations Parents’ Circle Families Forum and Combatants for Peace use this commemoration to highlight the suffering caused by terror, war, retaliation and other violence on both sides of the conflict. They bring together victims from different backgrounds, both Israeli and Palestinian. Family members bear witness to the deaths of their loved ones, but also to their desire to work towards peace and justice, towards security for everyone, and towards a shared future.
On 20 April 2026, the 21st Joint Ceremony will be organised. First, due to COVID and then due to the war in Gaza, Palestinians and Israelis could no longer attend this ceremony together in person.
But that has not stopped the organisers from putting together a strong programme featuring powerful testimonies, music, poetry and speeches. It is always a deeply moving event, thanks to the authentic stories, but also thanks to the powerful message of peace, justice and reconciliation.
How can you follow this ceremony?
Would you like to follow this ceremony together with others? Then join us on Monday evening, 20 April. We will gather at the Chapel for Europe in Rue Van Maerlant, 22-24, 1040 Etterbeek.
Would you prefer to follow from home? Then register here :
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf8ZyvF3fidDpPh91sUo6Ss1Y0vYyFdlpRkwiG5VmyK9KvzNA/viewform
In collaboration:
Thanks to the enormous efforts of Parents’ Circle Families Forum and Combatants for Peace, the 21st Joint Ceremony is taking place this year. This requires not only organisational and technical skills, but also psycho-social and emotional strength. It is an exceptional event that deals with one of the worst forms of pain: the loss of a child, of a parent, of a brother or sister. To bear witness to this is no easy task, certainly not when you do so alongside people who are labelled as the enemy by propaganda.
Pax Christi Flanders has been promoting this Joint Ceremony in Flanders since 2018. This year, we are pleased to announce that we will be collaborating with Pax Christi International, the Platform of Israeli NGOs for Human Rights, the German Friends of Parents Circle Families Forum and Women Wage Peace/Women of the Sun Belgium.