On May 13th young women and young men from across Israel and various towns and villages across the West Bank met in Jaffa, as part of the reconciliation and negotiation program conducted in cooperation with USAID. Prior to this joint meeting, the Israeli and Palestinian youth participated in a series of parallel educational workshops where they deepened their knowledge on the conflict in preparation for meetings with their counterparts on the other side.
During the joint meetings, the groups engaged in facilitated dialogue about current political developments, debunked various myths that are prevalent in both societies and circulate on social media, shared their individual and collective narratives, and provided insights into their daily lives. In the conversations, the participants began brainstorming ideas and initiatives for cooperation such as writing joint articles, or events that can ensure their peers are also able to benefit from this.
While public opinion polls on both sides show pessimism about the future, almost all participants in the seminar agreed that they believe the conflict will be resolved in their lifetime. This is an example of the importance of young leadership in engaging in conflict resolution. This is how we build a future.
