February 17, 2008

Decision Makers Learn Non Violent Theory and Tactics

SHATIL and Tel Aviv University concluded a ground breaking four-month course for current and future decision-makers: “Conflict Management in the National and International Arena.” The course is part of SHATIL’s Conflict Transformation and Management Center’s (CTMC) efforts to enrich Israeli discourse with the language and skills of nonviolent conflict transformation, and especially to reach influential Israelis with these ideas. Students explored cutting-edge models and practical tools for managing conflicts in both national and international arenas.

The students – from the military, the police and the diplomatic service -- said they felt they were exposed to new ways of thinking about conflict, such as non military ways of creating deterrence or the fact that there is an “inner logic” in the conduct of “the other.”  Students especially appreciated the practical aspects of the course, including simulations examining the situation in Sderot, with Iran and in the occupied territories.

Said one participant, “The ability to observe and analyze a situation offered a practical tool which demonstrates that matters are not as they seem to be and exposed us to deeper levels of thought about conflicts.”

The course was part of Tel Aviv University’s Master’s Program in Diplomacy and Security.

Activists Learn to Work with Conflict

How can civil society activists and organizations best intervene in the myriad conflicts that are an integral part of Israeli society? Should they try to resolve the conflicts, de-escalate the situation, manage conflicts less violently or try to transform the power structure all together? These were the questions discussed in a February 6th conference, the Role of Civil Society in the Conflict between Jews and Palestinians inside Israel, organized jointly by SHATIL’s Conflict Transformation and Management Center (CTMC) and the Swiss Center for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution at the Hebrew University. 

Members of ACRI and Bimkom presented their methods of working with decision-makers and the general public to the dozens of Swiss Center students and activists from social change organizations who participated. Representatives of the School for Peace in Neve Shalom, Ma'arag (which runs joint projects between Jews and Arabs in the North) and the InterCultural Center in Jerusalem discussed the effects of differing basic assumptions and goals on the work of Arab-Jewish dialogue in Israel. While some dialogue organizations focus on the inter-personal level presenting the different narratives, others define their goal as changing the power structure and concentrate on what the participants in their dialogue groups can learn about the existing situation and their roles in it. The collaboration between SHATIL and the Swiss Center will continue in additional planned conferences in the coming months.