Mehra Rimer joined Amira Mohammed on Unapologetic: The Third Narrative, a podcast whose work B8 of Hope is proud to support. The podcast refuses both polarization and erasure, creating room for people to speak honestly from within their own complex identities—and Mehra’s own story made it a particularly meaningful place for this conversation.
Mehra reflected on how her identity as an Iranian woman shaped the creation of B8 of Hope and continues to inform its mission. She spoke about the path that brought her into Palestinian–Israeli peacebuilding and the responsibility she feels to stand behind civil society actors who continue their work through violence, political upheaval, and growing despair.
Following the episode, Mehra joined members of the podcast’s Patreon community for a smaller online conversation about the complexities of her role in the wake of renewed regional escalation. It was not a conversation built around easy answers, but around what it means to hold multiple histories, remain honest about pain and injustice, and continue supporting those who refuse to abandon the possibility of another future.
At FIFDH 2024, B8 of Hope brought together two people with deep ties to our work: Ali Abu Awwad, a longtime friend and the original inspiration behind B8 of Hope’s creation, and May Pundak, Israeli co-director of our grantee A Land for All.
Visiting Washington, DC in 2024, Mehra Rimer carried the work of B8 of Hope’s grantees into conversations with policymakers and peacebuilding institutions—and saw ideas developed in Geneva reach the halls of power.
At the Geneva Graduate Institute and the University of Lausanne, B8 of Hope introduced students to the work of our Palestinian and Israeli grantees, our pro-solution approach, and the role of trust-based philanthropy in sustaining peacebuilding.