Mazen Faraj (Palestine) and Niv Sarig (Israel) both lost a close family member in the conflict between their countries. Today they work together in the Parents Circle Family Forum to change the narrative of hate and conflict. They believe a re-start in Israeli-Palestinian relations can only be made by acknowledging the humanity on the other side.

Mazen Faraj is a 41 year old father of 3. He lives in Dheisheh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem, Palestine. Mazen’s father was killed by an Israeli soldier, mistaking his bags to something else. Mazen spent some major parts of his youth in Israeli prison. He learned there informally -politics, Hebrew and history of the Middle East.

Niv Sarig, aged 39 of Kfar Sava, Israel, married and a father of 3 boys and holds a Ph.D in Mathematics from the Weizmann Institute of Science. His eldest brother Guy was killed in Tul-Karem, on the eve of The Feast of Tabernacles in September of 1996, during the riots that broke out in wake of the opening of the Western Wall Tunnels, 2 months before Guy was due to be released from the IDF.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx