Both Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan have lost children to violence in the conflict between Palestine and Israel. Aramin is a Palestinian academic who spent seven years in an Israeli jail for his role in the Palestinian resistance. Elhanan is an Israeli graphic designer who served in the Israeli Army as a young man. On the first day of the school year in 1997, Elhanan’s daughter, Smadar, was killed by two Palestinian suicide bombers. In 2007, Aramin’s 10-year-old daughter, Abir, was killed by Israeli border police in front of her school. United by this shared grief, Aramin and Elhanan’s supported each other in healing from unimaginable loss. Their moving story has been shared around the world, and was the inspiration for Colum McCann’s Booker-Prize-longlisted novel Apeirogon. Following their sold-out event at the Wheeler Centre, enjoy this digital recording of Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan sharing their powerful story of loss, personal empathy and peace.
Presented in partnership with Plus61J Media
This event is supported by the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, a Victorian Government and City of Melbourne partnership.
From South Korea to Mozambique, the UK to Vietnam, India to the USA – World of Words brings together some of the world's most exciting writers and thinkers as they share insights, ideas and inspiration from their internationally acclaimed careers.
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Closed Captioned
Bassam Aramin was sent to Israeli prison as a 17-year-old for his role in the Palestinian resistance. He spent seven years there, and eventually started questioning the value of armed resistance. Several years after his release ...
Rami Elhanan is a 7th generation Jerusalemite graphic designer. He identifies himself as a Jew, an Israeli, and before everything else, a human being. On the first day of the school year in 1997, Rami's daughter, Smadar, was killed by two ...
Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year ...