The 21st alternative Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony took place in Jaffa on Monday alongside Israel’s official state ceremonies, though it was forced to keep its location secret due to far-right threats to disrupt the event.

Conducted in both Hebrew and Arabic, the ceremony featured Israelis and Palestinians who lost loved ones in the wider conflict, including the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in Israel, the war in Gaza, and settler violence in the West Bank.

The exact location of the Jaffa ceremony was not publicly disclosed in advance to attendees due to security concerns, particularly after a right-wing mob last year attacked a synagogue in Ra’anana that was hosting a screening of the event. The mob threw rocks, shouted racist slogans, spat at participants, and forced police to evacuate the venue.

The left-wing Standing Together organization, which organized screenings of the event, said in a statement on Monday that it had received threats to disrupt the event from “extremist groups” and “appealed to the police to ensure the safety of participants.”

“We will not give in to threats. The overwhelming response to the screenings proves that there is hope. Thousands want peace and a shared life, and reject more wars, more hatred, and more bereavement,” said Irit Lebanon of Standing Together.

The ceremony has been held annually for two decades, organized by the left-wing group Combatants for Peace and by the Parents Circle – Families Forum, a grassroots organization of bereaved Israelis and Palestinians who have lost family members to the conflict.

Palestinians participated in a parallel ceremony in the West Bank city of Jericho, unable to reach Jaffa due to the denial of entry permits by Israeli authorities.

Speakers included Liora Eilon, a survivor of the October 7 massacre at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, whose son Tal commanded the kibbutz’s emergency response team.

“I am here today because this is the place of hope. This is a place that gives me the strength to believe that one day we will talk, and it will end,” she said.

In a pre-recorded video, Kholoud Hushiah of Jenin spoke about the loss of her son, Mohammed, who was killed by IDF fire in 2023, which prompted her to join the Parents’ Circle.

“Despite all this pain, I stand here today to say: We chose the path of peace, despite all the losses, because we believe that blood only begets more blood, and that death and bereavement will never allow us, or our children, to live in peace,” said Hushiah.

Nahil Jamil Hanouna, a photographer from Gaza who lost her siblings and extended family in the war in Gaza, said in a pre-recorded video: “We Palestinians are human beings like everybody else. We want to live freely and in peace. We were created to build this world, not destroy it.”

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