Florence’s mayor, Sara Funaro,made up her mind after seeing a video of a song by Israeli singer Achinoam Nini, also known as Noa. Titled \u201cLook at Me,\u201d the song tells the story of two mothers: Robi Damelin and Bushra Awad. A Palestinian and an Israeli, both women are members of the Parents Circle Families Forum, an organization founded during the Oslo Agreement that now includes over 700 families who have lost their loved one because of the conflict. The model of \u201cdialogue and commitment to peace\u201d was honored with the \u201cFiorino d’oro,\u201d the highest honor conferred yearly by Florence to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional merit in various fields. The two activists could not attend the ceremony, so two young Florentines of Israeli and Palestinian origin accepted the award in their place. The Fiorino is named after the golden coin struck by the Republic of Florence from 1252 to 1533.
Both Robi and Bushra lost a son to the Middle Eastern conflict. David, Robi\u2019s son, was a 28-year-old reservist deployed in the West Bank. He was killed by a Palestinian sniper in 2002. Mahmoud, Bushra\u2019s son, lost his life in 2008 at age 17 in a protest against Israeli soldiers’ intervention in the Beit Ummar village near Hebron. Damelin has been part of Parents Circle for about twenty years and is its spokesperson, while Awad joined in 2011 after meeting Damelin in her village. Since then, their joint message has been, \u201cOur tears have the same color.\u201d They have a \u201cstory of pain, but also of courage and hope,\u201d said the mayor. Together, Damelin and Awad \u201chave transformed their suffering into dialogue and their grief into an act of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n