Reflection Activities
Throughout the year, the ICIP organises reflection activities, including roundtable discussions and analysis sessions for specialised audiences, providing opportunities to explore key issues in greater depth.
Analysis Session: Combatants for Peace
In April 2026, to mark the 20th anniversary of Combatants for Peace, the ICIP, FundiPau, NOVACT, and Lluïsos de Gràcia organised a dialogue with Israeli peace activist Elik Elhanan and Palestinian activist Ahmed Helou on peacebuilding through nonviolence.
Moderated by Carme Suñé, the event explored the personal experiences of both activists and their commitment to nonviolent resistance as an alternative to conflict, occupation, and dehumanisation. Elhanan, a former Israeli soldier and co-founder of Combatants for Peace, explained how the death of his sister in a 1997 bombing led him to reject violence and embrace dialogue and reconciliation as the only path towards lasting peace.
Analysis Session: Chronic Trauma and Childhood under Occupation in Palestine
The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories has had a devastating impact on the mental and emotional well-being of children and young people. Research shows that Palestinian children and youth live in a state of “chronic and continuous trauma”, characterised by constant fear, sleep and eating disorders, insecurity, barriers to education, and profound emotional distress.
This was the central message presented by three researchers from Bethlehem University during a conference held at the ICIP headquarters on 21 May 2025, organised in collaboration with Pompeu Fabra University. The speakers, specialists in clinical psychology, social psychology, and gender studies, shared their research on the effects of structural violence and military occupation in Gaza and the West Bank.
“Genocide, forced displacement, and violence are destroying children’s everyday lives,” stated Minerva Qassis Jarayseh, while Razan Qadar emphasised that this context creates permanent trauma. Despite these challenges, the speakers highlighted the resilience of the Palestinian community and the transformative role of academic research as a tool for resistance and collective healing.
Rami Elhanan and Bassam Aramin: Transforming Grief into Dialogue
Israeli Rami Elhanan and Palestinian Bassam Aramin both lost their daughters as a result of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Smadar was killed in a Hamas suicide bombing in 1997, while Abir was shot and killed by an officer of the Israeli Border Police in 2007.
Rather than responding with hatred, they chose to work together for peace through The Parents Circle – Families Forum, promoting dialogue, reconciliation, and human rights. Their story inspired Colum McCann’s acclaimed novel Apeirogon.
In this conversation, organised by the ICIP at the Centre for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB), Rami Elhanan and Bassam Aramin spoke with Jordi Armadans about the transformative power of empathy, friendship, and the opportunities to build a just and lasting peace.
Analysis Session: Meir Margalit on The Eclipse of Israeli Society
Israeli historian and peace and human rights activist Meir Margalit visited Barcelona in March 2025 to participate in the Impacte! Catalonia Human Rights Film Festival. During his stay, the ICIP hosted the analysis session “The Eclipse of Israeli Society”, organised jointly with FundiPau and NOVACT as a space for reflection on Israel’s political and social trajectory.
During the session, Margalit examined how fear, militarism, and messianic ideology have shaped contemporary Israeli society, consolidating a system in which the military dominates public life, the far right continues to gain influence, and the prospects for peace appear increasingly remote.
"Barcelona, City of Peace": Tribute to the Hibakusha
On 20 and 21 January 2025, a Japanese delegation led by Shigemitsu Tanaka, a survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bombing and Co-Chair of Nihon Hidankyo, the organisation awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, visited Barcelona to take part in two institutional events.
The first activity, organised by ICIP and LaFede.cat, brought together the Japanese delegation and a number of Catalan organisations committed to peacebuilding and nuclear disarmament. The meeting took place on Monday, 20 January, at LaFede.cat headquarters.
The following day, 21 January, the Saló de Cent at Barcelona City Hall hosted the event “Barcelona, City of Peace: Ceremony Honouring the Hibakusha”, chaired by the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni. The ceremony paid tribute to the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and featured the participation of Shigemitsu Tanaka, representing Nihon Hidankyo (Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations), and Yayoi Tsuchida, Deputy Secretary General of Gensuikyo (Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs).