MidEast Citizen Diplomacy

Bob and Zoughbi photo (14K)

"This project is on the cutting edge of Jewish-Palestinian dialogue. Compassionate Listening is a process rather than a product. It is healing precisely because it does not pretend to 'have the answers.' Rather, it engages the participants in processes that have each side seeing the humanity of the other, even when they disagree."

Rabbi David Zaslow, Ashland Oregon

Mid East Citizen Diplomacy has been working in Israel and Palestine since 1990. We initiated the Compassionate Listening Project in 1997 with the encouragement of Israeli and Palestinian NGO's, to invite regular citizens to play a greater role in Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation.

The Compassionate Listening Project seeks to:

Increase the number of people working for Israeli/Jewish-Palestinian peace and reconciliation who have had a thorough exposure to both communities "on the ground";
Strengthen and support the work of Israelis and Palestinians involved in dialogue and peace-building;
Foster new Jewish-Palestinian ally relationships;
Create new strategies for peace-building;
Provide guidance and practice with a powerful conflict resolution tool which will serve participants for life.

We have built respectful and trusting relationships at every level of Israeli and Palestinian society, and extend an invitation to you to join us in entering both societies very deeply to listen, learn and build bridges of understanding. Our work focuses on bridging the gap between Jews/Israelis and Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza. (see Trips).

We believe that peace comes through the hard work of meetings one's enemy - the human being behind the stereotype, and acknowledging one another's suffering. Compassionate Listening as a tool for reconciliation is based on a simple yet profound formula for the resolution of conflict: adversaries giving the gift of listening. To help reconcile conflicting parties, we must have the ability to understand the suffering of both sides.

Project Summary

Delegations spend two weeks in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Our journey begins in Jerusalem with an intensive training in Compassionate Listening. We then practice with a wide spectrum of Israelis and Palestinians. Our objectives are to deepen our understanding of the perspectives and the suffering of people on all sides to the conflict, and to build bridges among the communities in conflict. Part of our time is spent learning from and supporting Israelis and Palestinians already involved in reconciliation efforts. There are many courageous Israelis and Palestinians who have much to teach us and who need on-going support from the international community. We also hold workshops for Israelis and Palestinians in the listening technique, and invite Israelis and Palestinians to come together to practice with one another.

Leading Israeli and Palestinian professionals in the conflict resolution field serve on our Advisory Board and are actively involved with our delegations. Through our daily practice in the field and our group sessions, participants come away with a thorough understanding of Compassionate Listening, which is applicable to all conflict situations.

Delegations are limited to 15 people. We seek participants who have a genuine interest in the experience and suffering of all Israelis and Palestinians.

Our itinerary changes with each delegation.

About the Compassionate Listening Model

Compassionate Listening was developed by Gene Knudsen Hoffman, International Peacemaker and founder of the US/USSR Reconciliation program (Fellowship of Reconciliation). Gene writes, "Some time ago I recognized that terrorists were people who had grievances, who thought their grievances would never be heard, and certainly never addressed. Later I saw that all parties to every conflict were wounded, and at the heart of every act of violence is an unhealed wound." In her role as a counselor, Gene recognized that non-judgmental listening was a great healing process in itself.

Compassionate Listening requires questions which are non-adversarial and listening which is non-judgmental. Listeners seek the truth of the person questioned, seeing through 'masks of hostility and fear to the sacredness of the individual.' Listeners seek to humanize the 'enemy'. They do not defend themselves, but accept whatever others say as their perceptions, and validate the right to their own perceptions. Compassionate Listening can cut through barriers of defense and mistrust, enabling both those listened to and those listening to hear what they think, to change their opinions, and to make more informed decisions. Through this process, fear can be reduced, and participants will be better equipped to discern how to proceed with effective action. You can access Gene's essays on Compassionate Listening on the web at: . You can also read and download Gene's book - Compassionate Listening: An Exploratory Sourcebook About Conflict Transformation, at: