Interviewed in 2003
Israeli Jewish Lives in Tel Mond Profession: Teacher Works at Association for the Commemoration of Bat-Chen Shahak, Bereaved Families Forum Interviewed by: Nahanni Rous
Ayelet Shahak's daughter Bat-Chen was killed in a bombing outside a Tel Aviv mall in 1996. During the mourning period the Shahaks discovered that Bat-Chen's diaries were full of writings and poems about peace. Ayelet and her husband Tzvika have made it their mission to pursue their daughter's hopes for peace, becoming founding members of the Parents Circle-Bereaved Families Forum, a group of over 500 Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost loved ones to the conflict, and who advocate reconciliation over retribution. Ayelet, along with her Palestinian partners, lectures in schools throughout Israel and in the West Bank. The Shahaks, who are featured in Just Vision's film Encounter Point, have published Bat-Chen's poems and diaries in Hebrew, Arabic, Dutch, German and Japanese, Italian and recently in English. To view a scene from the film about Bat-Chen's poems please press here.