Steve Lear

Let’s Keep Communicating Despite Conflict

You don’t create constructive conflict with your friends;  you create it with people you believe are your adversaries.

Currently, the negative energy surrounding the Middle East situation is more challenging than it’s been in 30 years. Four civil wars are happening: within Israeli society, within the Jewish world, and within both the Arab/Muslim and Palestinian/Hamas communities.

Expectations of progress are low today, but that’s no reason to stop talking to each other. For 25 years, I’ve been actively involved in promoting dialogue as a path to understanding through various organizations doing this work around the world.

Why continue? Because it’s critical to be prepared – physically, mentally, and emotionally – for that time when the energy shifts and we become more collaborative once again. Then we’ll be able to tap into the relationships we’ve worked so hard to build and find new solutions together.

For the past 18 months, I’ve been part of a small group of Jews and Palestinians who meet regularly for tough discussions. It’s often difficult, but always worthwhile.

MPR News Correspondent Catharine Richert recently featured our group in a story for Talking Sense, a collaboration between MPR News and the nonprofit organization Braver Angels. Richert leads this reporting project, whose goal is to help Minnesotans find better ways to have hard conversations about politics. I invite you to learn about our efforts to keep communicating despite our differences at the following link:

She’s a rabbi. He’s a Palestinian peace activist. They’re trying to start a movement.