Compassionate Listening Project

This is a case study of a citizen peacemaking effort §called the Compassionate Listening Project. The §project §organizes delegations of north Americans most but §not all of §whom are Jewish on trips to Israel, Gaza and the §West Bank with §the intention of listening to a broad spectrum of §positions and views §on the conflict. Based on participant observations §and in-depth §interviews, this work looks at how citizens involved §with this peace §effort those that go to listen and those they listen §to construct §and reconstruct the meaning of conflict and peace §through their §words, behaviors and interactions. Descriptive §narrative illuminates §the experiences of those involved with this project, §revealing how §ordinary citizens grapple with the complexities and §contradictions §that arise in ethnic and identity-based conflicts, §particularly as §related to themes of reconciliation, justice and §coexistence. §Focused on the period marked by the disintegration §of the peace §process and the outbreak of the Second Intifada §(1999-2000), it §provides insight about a range of citizen attitudes, §assumptions, §beliefs and expectations leading up to the collapse.