Bereaved Israeli, Palestinian families' meetings nixed

Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar instructs to halt reconciliation gatherings between relatives of deceased Palestinian terrorists, families of terror victims; claims meetings 'legitimize terrorism'

Tamar Trabelsi-Hadad|Published: 12.25.11 , 13:32

Relatives of Palestinian terrorists who were killed in the conflict will not be allowed to participate in gatherings with bereaved families who lost their loved ones in terror attacks, Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced.

The meetings, which are organized by the Parents Circle - Families Forum (PCFF) – an organization that promotes reconciliation between bereaved Palestinians and Israelis – were halted after parents of students in Kfar Saba complained to the Education Ministry.

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Several months ago, a group of parents turned to the legal adviser of the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, Attorney Hila Cohen, in demand that the encounters be discontinued.

"Drawing a comparison between bereaved Israeli families and Palestinian families is inconceivable, as such discussions legitimize acts of terrorism," Cohen wrote in a letter to the Education Ministry.

According to the letter, the Palestinians who participate in these gatherings pay lip service to the victims' families, while their true goal is to garner support for terrorism.

Following the request, Minister Sa'ar instructed to prohibit terrorists' families from attending the meetings. "The education system supports messages of peace, conciliation and dialogue, and promotes pluralistic discourse, but there is no room for comparison between terror victims and terrorists," the minister explained.

Families of Palestinians who weren't engaged in terrorist activities and were killed in the conflict, will be allowed to keep attending the meetings, he added.

Following the announcement, some schools decided to stop hosting such meetings in protest of the new directive.