Saddened by the death of Franca Ciccolo

Neve Shalom - Wahat al-Salam is deeply saddened by the passing of Franca Ciccolo, who was loved by so many in the village - in fact everyone who came into contact with her: whether Palestinian or Jewish, young or old. Her many visits to the village were always too short to spend time with all of her friends here. She was loved because she managed to communicate her warmth, empathy and sincerity despite differences and culture and difficulties in language.

Franca’s relationship with the village goes back to the days when both she and her late husband Renzo were inspired by Bruno Hussar to support the village. Her involvement in the friends association continued after long after her husband’s death.

In April 2004 she married Walter in Jerusalem. The occasion swept the whole community into a mood of celebration and in fact a true celebration - in oriental style - took place in the village the same evening - accompanied by good food, music and of course dancing.

Over the years many community members had the pleasure to see Franca when
they came on speaking trips to Italy. They visited her and Walter in Milan, and sometimes at their home in Valbrona. All, upon their return, reported on the wonderful way in which they had been looked after. One of her oldest friends in the village, Abdessalam Najjar, has been spared the sorrow of her passing due to his own death in 2012.

We know that this personal connection was only a small part of her involvement: that in fact the true expression of her concern for the village was the long hours invested in the development of the Friends Association in Italy. She dedicated much of her time and many of her resources to this work. It would have been difficult to imagine the development of the association without the support of Franca, and it will be hard to imagine the association without her constant guidance.

Nevertheless, we would not have wanted her to continue suffering. Her long struggle with disease has come to a peaceable close. We hope that whatever world she now finds herself in now will be more peaceful than the one from which she has departed.

We send all our love and sympathy to Walter, to her family, especially Emmanuele, Mattia and Elena, and friends.

— 
Rita Boulos,
Coordinator,
Communications & Development Office