Open Space for Israeli and Palestinian facilitators and activists: Israelis and Palestinians Together: A Consultation on Creating a More Peaceful Future

In October 2010, a diverse and experienced group of Israelis and Palestinians gathered in Istanbul for a three-day consultation to explore potential contributions to a more peaceful and equitable regional future. The group was convened by Paula Green, founder of Karuna Center for Peacebuilding and professor at the School for International Training Graduate Institute. Paula invited Carol Kasbari of Jerusalem to share the facilitation role and to offer her skills as a leader of Open Space Technology. The gathering aimed to build a trusting and mutually sensitive learning community for exploring and designing future engagement in the stalled and fractured peace process. We envisioned that in the process of meeting together, the group would be creating its own joint Palestinian/Israeli support and advocacy group, as well as exploring how other Palestinian and Israeli actors might convene to increase mutual humanization and find common ground for change. We hoped to challenge within us any signs of resignation, futility, despair, disempowerment, and/or hatred that could have arisen through the decades of bitter conflict and occupation, so that we could become productive actors in support of justice and peace.