About the Authors

Biography

About the Authors     

Evaluating the Communication between Groups in Dispute: Equality in Contact Interventions between Jews and Arabs in Israel

This article examines a new approach for evaluating the process of interactive conflict-resolution interventions by focusing on the quality of communication between the groups in dispute. This approach assesses the extent to which contact interventions, aimed at improving relations between sides in dispute, actually promote among their participants relationships, behaviors, and interactions that fulfill standards of social justice, equality, and fairness. Creating equality in communication models and reinforces values of mutual respect and tolerance. Thus, establishing symmetrical communication can be especially important for many interventions conducted to resolve conflicts marked by unequal distribution of power. One such asymmetrical conflict is the one between the Jewish majority and the Arab minority in Israel. This article describes a study that applies our process-evaluation approach to assess equality and social justice in planned contact interventions between Israeli Jews and Arabs by measuring the degree to which members of the two groups contributed equally to the communication between them. Finally, the article presents guidelines, derived from this and other similar studies, for establishing communication equality in other planned contact interventions.     

Peace Building in Violent Conflict: Israeli-Palestinian Post-Oslo People-to-People Activities

This article deals with peace-building activities in the context of the intractable conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Scores of people-to-people projects were conducted after the September 1993 signing of the Oslo peace accords, but these projects did not seem to prevent the collapse of the peace process and the re-emergence of severe violence between the sides in late September 2000. However, evidence from the field indicates that peace-building activities are still continuing. This article will describe peace-building activities both before and after September 2000, discuss their effectiveness, and define their relevance in the ongoing violent conflict between the sides.