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Oxford Research Group and Peace Direct

bring you:

Containing War, Containing Hatred:
from the personal to the political

evening Wednesday April 9th &
all day Thursday April 10th 2003

Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road, London NW6
nearest tube: Tube: Kilburn (Jubilee Line)

The revival of a roadmap for peace in the Middle East focuses the mind and our awareness of the importance of solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Centred upon Julia Pascal’s powerful and moving play, Crossing Jerusalem, this theatre seminar wishes to examine what lies beneath the surface when there is conflict. We will explore what happens when the trust has broken down and there is deep hatred on both sides, which leads to the desire for retribution and the inevitable cycles of violence.

Using experts from the political, NGO, psychotherapeutic and theatre worlds, this event will explore how we need to address, contain and manage these emotions if we are to be serious about lasting change. It will also offer the opportunity of exploring whether there is a place for an international protectorate at a transitional and preparatory stage for a more substantial peace. For anyone committed to seeing an end to this most painful of conflicts, this lively and participatory event should not be missed.

Programme

Wednesday 9th April 2003

6:00pm

Registration and coffee

6:30pm - 7:15pm

Welcome and introductions
Dr Scilla Elworthy (Director of Oxford Research Group) and
Larry Hollingworth (Former Chief of Operations for UNHCR in Bosnia and UNRWA coordinator in Jenin 2002)

7:30pm

Performance of Crossing Jerusalem
The play takes place in Jerusalem over 24 hours in March 2002. An impulsive journey by an Israeli family across the city provokes disturbing questions about loyalty, personal morality and violence. During this 24 hours, Jews, Christian Arabs and Muslim Palestinians interconnect and the result is surprising.

9:45pm

Discussion of the play (with soft drinks and wine)
David Edgar (Playwright),
Julia Pascal (Author of Crossing Jerusalem),
Jack Gold (Director)
and the cast of the play

 

Thursday 10th April 2003

9:30am - 11am

Containing Hatred: the Personal
Hearing it differently: a practical session exploring how we can begin to transform the anger, mistrust and hatred that we experience within us and around us.
Liz Kingsnorth (Centre for Nonviolent Communication)

11pm - 11:30am

Tea and coffee

11:30am - 1pm

Containing War: the political
Examples of how ordinary people in Israel and Palestine are coping with the conflict.
Speakers:
Anat Reisman-Levy (Israeli mediator and trainer),
Amjad Jaouni (Palestinian mediator),
Lucy Nusseibeh (Director of Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy)

1pm - 2pm

Lunch break

2pm

“When all trust has gone”: Containment in Practice in the Middle East.
A panel session to discuss a protectorate for the Occupied Territories.
Chair: Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (Author and Independent columnist)
Speakers:
Dr Tony Klug (International relations specialist),
Karma Nabulsi (Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford. PLO representative 1978-1990, adviser at peace talks 1991-1993),
Paul Hilder (European Editor at openDemocracy, and co-editor of Peace Fire: Fragments from the Israel-Palestine Story)

3:30 - 4pm

Tea and coffee

4pm - 5pm

Concluding session and keynote speech:
Bianca Jagger (Human rights campaigner)


For tickets contact Robin McAfee (see details below). Prices are £69 for individuals, £100 for institutions and £35 concessionary rate. All prices include a ticket to see the performance of Crossing Jerusalem.


…“a triumph…a really good philosophical experience in which people from a range of backgrounds reached out of their disciplines to exchange views and positions. This is very difficult to achieve but you managed it…” Senior official, the Cabinet Office, commenting on our previous event at the Barbican.

“It was refreshing to see how the limitations of the three disciplines of conflict transformation, drama and process-oriented psychotherapy, were transcended by their interaction. For this reason, it is probably the only good conference I have ever been to, and was at times quite extraordinary. Thank you all.” David Gee, Quaker and Social Witness comments on our Barbican event

“You assembled a terrific group both as panellists and attenders, and the fact that so many of the latter made such significant contributions is a credit to the atmosphere of participation and openness you created. I was particularly struck by the lack of any kind of exclusionary jargon.” David Edgar, playwright, comments on our Barbican event.

“Is the way to solve the world's problems with violence or with discussion and a will to understand? If we want the latter goal to be realised, we should support Peace Direct and its specific commitment to it." Julie Christie, film actress, after our event at the Opera House.


Contact Details:
Dr Scilla Elworthy, Director
Robin McAfee, Producer
Peace Direct
an initiative of Oxford Research Group
39 A Lancaster Grove,
London NW3 4HB, UK
Tel: +44 (0)845 456 9714
Fax: +44 (0)7092 313 135
Web: www.peacedirect.org
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