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Religion and Ethics in a Globalizing World pp 117–140Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Relationship Building in the Middle East among Adversaries: Israelis and Palestinians

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Abstract

This chapter will showcase the invaluable role that intercultural dialogue, encounters, workshops, and structured interactions between Israeli Jews and Palestinians play in advancing reconciliation and friendships, crucial to long-term resolution of the conflict. Also identified and examined are the unsung peacemakers and conciliators who, in the face of hostility and accusations of betrayal, are holding reconciliation-aimed sessions between Israelis and Palestinians and Jews and Muslims to bridge the cultural gap and put a human face on the other. Referring to the “Contact Hypothesis,” Ifat Maoz correctly asserts that “intergroup contact can, under certain conditions, be effective in reducing hostility and prejudice and in creating more positive attitudes between the groups.”1 Furthermore, this chapter will illustrate that, despite the overwhelming reports and images of violence that foreground the suffering of both peoples, and have engendered a sense of irreconcilable differences and hopelessness, there is another perspective to be considered within this rubric.

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Notes

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Authors
  1. Dvir Abramovich
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Editor information

Luca Anceschi Joseph Anthony Camilleri Ruwan Palapathwala Andrew Wicking

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© 2011 Luca Anceschi, Joseph A. Camilleri, Ruwan Palapathwala, and Andrew Wicking

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Abramovich, D. (2011). Relationship Building in the Middle East among Adversaries: Israelis and Palestinians. In: Anceschi, L., Camilleri, J.A., Palapathwala, R., Wicking, A. (eds) Religion and Ethics in a Globalizing World. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230117686_7

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