The Center for Peacebuilding and Development and the Mohammed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace held a screening of the film, “Two-Sided Story,” on Oct. 1 at the Abramson Family Founders Room in the AU School of International Service. The film successfully brought 27 Israelis and Palestinians together in the summer of 2011 to understand one another’s points of view on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The objective of the film is to foster a deeper understanding of each side and to find common ground between their two positions. The discussion was not spurred with the intention of changing the other side’s mind on the issue.
Speakers from both sides narrated their painful and personal stories caused by the conflict to draw links between the experiences of Israelis and Palestinians. By the end of their meetings, participants noted that they left with a deeper awareness of and connection to the opposing side. “What changed in me is that I understand today more of their pain,” noted Ohad, an Israeli participant in the discussions.
The film was followed by remarks from Israeli mother Robi Damelin and Palestinian father Bassam Aramin, two representatives from the Parents Circle Families Forum (PCFF). PCFF is an organization of bereaved Israelis and Palestinians who advocate reconciliation to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Damelin and Aramin’s stories allowed attendees to understand the complex dynamics of Israeli-Palestinian relations. Both Damelin and Aramin narrated the deaths of their children by the hands of Palestinian and Israeli soldiers, respectively. They emphasized that both sides needed to be empathetic about the losses of the other side.
Both speakers also iterated the urgent need for a solution between Israel and Palestine. Aramin and Damelin remarked that the killing needed to come to the end. “This is going to be difficult, but it is possible,” Damelin said.
The event was the first part of Mohammed Said Farsi Chair’s 2013-2014 Islamic Lecture Series.
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