“The key is to recognize that even in this situation, we still have the opportunity to act.”

The signs are still pointing to war. One year after the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel and one year after the beginning of the Gaza war, the region is still in turmoil. The threat of escalation is looming. Hardly anyone in Israel is talking publicly about peace these days, except with derision or cynicism.

But there is a counter-movement to the bitterness and hardening of discourse that can be observed in the media and politics, albeit still under the radar. Since the Hamas attack, the School for Peace in Neve Shalom–Wahat al-Salam has received more registrations than ever – from Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel alike, as the school’s director, Roi Silberberg, reports. “Yes, there’s violence all around us,” he says, “but we still insist that we can talk to each other even in these times.”

On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists murdered about 1,200 people and abducted around 250 more as hostages. In the war that Israel’s army has been waging against Hamas in Gaza ever since, more than 40,000 people have lost their lives. A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where most of its approximately 2.2 million inhabitants have lost their homes and have been repeatedly forced to flee. Meanwhile, in Israel, the space for public expression has narrowed, reports Roi Silberberg. He himself has been attacked on social media for expressing what he considers a harmless wish for peace.

This may sound like harsh conditions for dialogue and peace work, but Silberberg sees it the other way around: “Our dialogue method was developed for life during conflict. That’s why we’re now more in our element than before.”

For many years, the school has been bringing together Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel for joint projects and training in a wide range of fields. All events include dialogue sessions that touch on the decades-long conflict. Before October 7, 2023, Silberberg reports, “We had to do more work to unfold the conflict. Because there’s something very misleading about sitting in a room and talking. It makes you think: If we can talk to each other, then maybe there is no conflict! In that sense, the war makes our work easier. We start from a very different place.”

After the initial shock that the attack by Hamas and the subsequent outbreak of war also meant for the people in Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, the school adapted its work to the new circumstances. “We’re emphasizing the fact that we have a responsibility in this situation and can do something. What exactly? That’s not important at first,” explains Silberberg. “The key is to recognize that even in this situation, we still have the opportunity to act.”

To this end, the school is experimenting with new forms of action. For example, it expanded its dialogue projects to include the Israeli and Palestinian diaspora in Europe and brought together representatives of both sides for a seminar in Berlin. It also initiated an intra-Palestinian dialogue with participants from Israel and the West Bank to promote exchange between Palestinians across political and geographical lines. “We realized that if we want to engage in Israeli-Palestinian dialogue, we have to include as many parts of Palestinian society as possible,” explains Silberberg.

And despite the worrying developments in the region, Silberberg also sees encouraging signs. Not only has demand for the school’s services increased, but participants are also more engaged than before. “There’s a heightened sense of urgency. People who come to us no longer miss sessions. They feel that what they’re doing here is critically important.”