Interview Questions for Ester Golan

What happened to your parents while you lived in England?

You said that you didn’t know what had happened in Auschwitz until the Eichmann trial. But all that time, what did you think had happened to your mother?

When did you first get involved in inter-religious work?

Why was it important to be involved in interfaith work?

What did you do in the interfaith group?

So when you came to Jerusalem, you started getting more involved?

You said when you speak in Germany and when you were a tour guide you were representing the broad consensus. When you attend interfaith meetings do you do the same?

Do you think of your interfaith work as peace work?

Can you tell me why those encounters with "the other" are so important?

What does the word peace mean to you?

Can you talk about your various activities that you would describe as encounters with the "other"?

What do you do with the Compassionate Listening Project?

Who is active in the Compassionate Listening Project with you?

Since the intifada have you gone to the West Bank?

Aside from the restrictions prohibiting you from traveling to the West Bank, do you have any desire to go?

Do you still feel like there is any possibility for continuing dialogue with the people you used to talk to?

Do you feel he would welcome you still if you were allowed to go?

But he doesn’t have control over whether the army allows you to go in.

I’m not trying to ask about politics. You’re talking about the importance of person-to-person encounters. I want to know whether you still think it’s important or not to have person-to-person encounters with Palestinians.

Let’s talk about the trip to Auschwitz. When you first heard about it, what did you think of the idea?

What was the goal of the trip to Auschwitz?

Did you have any doubts before you went on the trip to Auschwitz with Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel?

Did the group get close personally?

Can you tell me about one person you had a significant moment with during that trip?

Did anyone in your family or among your friends think you shouldn’t go on this trip?

How does your religiousness affect your involvement?

How do you describe yourself religiously?

If you could reach one international audience, which would be the most important in terms of a group that could be influential or helpful here?

What do you think are the biggest misconceptions held by people who come here from abroad?

Within Israeli society, what do you think are some misconceptions about the kind of encounters you participate in?

Do you think you’ll see an end to this situation in your lifetime?

What do you think will help end the conflict?

When you say someone should help the Palestinians, do you mean international groups?

In the work that you do, what do you consider a small victory?

For someone who doesn’t understand much about this conflict, why are you doing what you are doing?

Do you ever have any doubts that what you are doing is effective?

Has your involvement in interfaith work changed your relationship with your community?

How would you define your community?

Do you think there’s some kind of emotional strength that you need, in addition to knowledge, in order to do interfaith work?

Can you tell me about some of the cultural differences you mentioned?

What language do you speak together in the Interfaith Encounter group?

Do you think it’s rare for you to be involved in these kinds of groups and encounters?

Do you remember a time when somebody said something or did something that changed the way you thought?

What are some of the most important things you’ve learned in these groups?

When you talk about the Levinas philosophy of taking responsibility for the Other, what does that mean?

How do you think fear impacts these encounters?

But in the broader conflict, what role do you think fear plays?

What do you think is the most important thing to achieve here for the future?

Do you give up anything to do this?

What do you think it will take to achieve a state of "live and let live"?

Do you see signs of hope?

What do you think are the biggest misconceptions from outside about what is happening here?

What do you think are the roots of the conflict?

Can you tell me what happened when your grandson was killed, and how some of your friends from the interfaith groups responded?

Did your grandson's death ever make you think it was useless to go on doing the interfaith work?

Is there anything else that you want to talk about?

With all the troubles here, would you ever think of living anywhere else?