“Peace is built first and foremost by courageous human beings who refuse to surrender their humanity, even in the darkest of times.”
As B8 of Hope marks ten years since the beginning of the journey that led to its creation, Mehra Rimer, B8 of Hope’s Director and Co-Founder, reflects on the Palestinian and Israeli peacebuilders whose courage, humanity, and teachings shaped her path — and continue to guide B8 of Hope’s work today.
“Peace agreements are milestones, not finish lines.”
Through B8 of Hope’s partnership with Amal-Tikva, Mehra Rimer joined a cohort of emerging Israeli and Palestinian civil society leaders in Belfast to learn from the Northern Irish peace process. In this reflection, she considers what that experience can teach us about trauma, compromise, women’s leadership, civil society, and the long work of sustaining peace.
“When people are given trust, space, and human connection, ideas can grow, relationships can deepen, and hope can continue to survive even in the darkest moments.”
In February 2024, B8 of Hope hosted Israeli and Palestinian alumni of New Story Leadership in Geneva for a week of dialogue, planning, and shared work. In this reflection, Mehra Rimer looks back on how B8 of Hope helped create the conditions — through space, trust, hospitality, and human connection — for young leaders to develop a shared vision for the day after.
“The inspiration, the motivation, the courage I carry forward all come from the ground — straight to my heart.”
After more than two years of staying connected through calls, messages, and screens, Mehra Rimer, Co-Founder and Executive Director of B8 of Hope, returned to Israel and Palestine. In this reflection, she writes about grief, proximity, memory, and the Palestinian and Israeli peacebuilders whose courage continues to sustain B8 of Hope’s work.
“Don’t talk about us without us.”
Eran Nissan is an alumnus of New Story Leadership, one of B8 of Hope’s grantee organizations. In this reflection, he writes about returning to Washington after October 7, reconnecting with Palestinian and Israeli peers, and helping shape a shared “day after” vision — work that was further developed during a B8 of Hope-hosted retreat in Geneva.
“The hero of this story is simply our humanity. People being people and treating each other as people.”
During a field visit with Physicians for Human Rights Israel, one of B8 of Hope’s grantee organizations, I joined a mobile clinic traveling from Jerusalem to a Palestinian village near Jenin. What I witnessed was practical, exhausting, and deeply human: doctors, medical students, translators, and volunteers stepping into an unjust system and doing what they could.
“In the darkest times, we found strength with each other.”
Juliet Wishner joined B8 of Hope as an intern the week after October 7. In this reflection, she shares how her time with B8 of Hope offered her a space for empathy, nuance, dialogue, and renewed commitment at a moment when hopelessness and division felt overwhelming.
