After the War: Sustained Dialogues Continue in Yaad-Miaar
by Chassia Chomsky-Porat

Jabir Asaqla, the Arab facilitator of the group and I have invited the participants of the Yaad-Miaar dialogue process to see how they are: where they stand– emotionally-following the war, to see together whether their participation in the process had an effect on their attitude towards the war and towards the respective “other”, to discuss the cemetery progress and again—to think What Next. The group members accepted the invitation gladly and with anticipation. After the initial excitement subsided, we started talk with a facilitated round of ventilation. A lot of anger and frustration towards the war were expressed by both sides. One Jewish participant shared with us her sorrow during the war at not being able to summon up the energy to call any of the Arab participants, just as she did not have the strength to call any of her Jewish friends.. Like many, she was paralyzed and concentrated on her immediate family. Another Jewish member made harsh judgments about the Arab states and the behavior of Arab citizens (“dancing on the roof when missiles fell”), but, in the same breath he added that in his mind, the only solution to the situation is this type of dialogue processes. “I know” he said, “that none of the people here would be glad if a missile would have hit my house. This is a seed that has to be cultivated by having as many similar groups as possible.” Other participant added:”I knew that when we meet, we would realize that nothing has changed in our relationships and feelings towards each other.” A sort of moderation was apparent. All participants expressed their opposition to war of any sort. As opposed to their attitude two years ago, one could feel their commitment and willingness to roll up their sleeves and take part in creating more dialogue groups. They asked us, the facilitators, to set a date, so they can start spreading the word and persuading members of both communities to join a concrete dialogue process. Their phrasing was that 'we should make history in this respect too: have a large number of Yaad-Miaar groups, so that as many people from both communities will share the experience and have a change of heart'. They also decided that once they have more partners – they will start some sort of studying process together and will initiate more projects. The participants expressed willingness and commitment to strengthen their bond as a group. Particularly - in their words - to remain close, together, also in times of dispute. The group agreed on a plan to renovate an old Miaar cemetery as a pilot project, and, after its completion, they will proceed together in designing and building of a Memorial park in the area of the old village center.