Describing how dialogue had changed him, a Palestinian Christian explained that he had grown up under the Israeli occupation and been imprisoned by the Israelis, who had killed his cousin. At first, he said, he found being in the circle and sharing all these stories really very difficult. But he discovered that the act of telling them actually "reshaped" him to be open to dialogue and able to hear stories from other people about how their lives were affected by terrible events, such as the Holocaust. "It's a process where we grow to develop sensitive ears, so we can hear the other," he said. "Being able to explain our differences is very important."
A Jewish dialoguer who learned that a Palestinian dialoguer's brother was in jail called lawyers in Israel in an effort to help the young man.
A Palestinian Muslim learned that a Jewish dialoguer's nephew was fighting in the war and worried for his safety.
Dialoguers mourned with each other as they learned of olive trees and lives torn asunder. One dialoguer brought olive oil from the "land" to sell in order to raise money for educational efforts in Israel and Palestine.
One dialoguer introduced others to Encounter Point, a film about people on the ground in Palestine and Israel struggling to connect with each other and tear down the walls of silence that exist there. A number of dialoguers became active in promoting the film. |
