“When Soldiers Speak: From Acts of Violence to Open Communication,” by Anne Read

Inter-religious conversations are essential in transforming current relations in Israel and West Bank, Palestine from combat to communication. This paper presents the case study of a Jerusalem-based dialogue group, Combatants for Peace (CFP), which utilizes contact theory to match West Bank Palestinians with Jewish Israeli participants to speak of their experience of war and violence. This paper records and analyzes the impact of such encounters on participants as they overcome psychological, social, and religious walls to address their former enemies in conversation. This paper records the personal stories of conflicting communities as they engage with and address one another in conversation. Read more here.