שתיל - שירותי תמיכה וייעוץ לקידום שינוי חברתי

SHATIL's Conflict Transformation and Management Center (CTMC) is actively building a network of leading international organizations and individuals transforming conflict in Israel. In partnership with Responding to Conflict (RTC), an international organization specializing in assisting organizations working in conflict areas around the world, SHATIL's CTMC convened the Conflict Transformation Strategy Group for a final five-day training session last week. Attended by fifteen Arab-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli leaders of social change NGOs from throughout Israel, the group focused on exploring and better understanding the complexity of conflicts in this region; learning from RTC's international experience; and connecting the tools and skills of conflict transformation to practical work on the ground.

One example of the training's impact: Two of the Strategy Group participants, one Arab-Israeli and one Jewish-Israeli, are sharing what they have learned with a group of Palestinian women citizens of Israel. Initiated in July, the trainings will cover a wide range of information and skill-building to equip these women with new ways of transforming conflict in their communities.

The Arab Israeli facilitator described her experience bringing this group together: "I am learning a lot, specifically how to apply conflict transformation tools to a large, diverse group of Palestinian women living in Israel. I feel empowered. This two-way process of empowerment has been striking, and is enriching my sense of belonging. My understanding of conflict transformation tools is becoming stronger as a result."

The Strategy Group established a task force that will continue to meet to identify and implement ways to prevent such violent clashes as those that erupted on Yom Kippur in Acre this year.