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Interview Questions for Gila Svirsky

Where are you from, how did you get involved in peace work?

It sounds like you must be leading up to a moment of some kind of change.

Did moving to Jerusalem instead of a settlement feel like an ideological choice at the time?

Can you further articulate your opposition to Israeli government policy during the Lebanon War?

What’s your analysis of the difference between holding up a sign that says "stop the violence" and "stop the occupation?" What does that say about where you were at the time?

Where did you go first when you wanted to visit the Palestinian Territories, and was it rare at the time for an Israeli to do this?

How did you choose what kinds of activities to get involved in?

Why were those the organizations that you chose to get involved with? What were you trying to do at that point?

Tell me about the Women’s Coalition.

For people who don’t know what your work looks like, can you describe a range of the kinds of activities you organize and what the goal of each is?

How do you find participants for the tours of the wall?

Is your tour of the wall sought after?

In the midst of working with people who more or less share your views, how do you keep in touch with what mainstream society needs to bring them along?

Have you had experiences in Israel that were very painful in regard to people’s response to your work?

What are some of the other biggest challenges you face in your work?

How do you convince Israelis that Palestinians are just like them? Do you have a strategy for combating stereotypes?

Why do you think women’s peace work can be more effective?

How do you keep yourself from getting discouraged?

What makes your work especially hard right now?

How do you account for what you said about public opinion polls showing more and more people agreeing with your views but you feeling that you’re more and more despised?

What do you consider small successes?

When did the prohibition on torture go through?

When you have demonstrations, what are you trying to accomplish, what’s the range of effect you’re hoping to have?

What’s your long-term vision for a resolution?

What will it take to start approaching a resolution?

Have your views in politics caused rifts in other parts of your family?

How do you define your community?

I sometimes wonder if this work is at the expense of feeling like you’re part of a larger society.

Why do you think previous peace processes failed?

It sounds like in some ways you’ve given up on the mainstream Israeli public. Would you say that?

What does the word peace mean to you?

Do you ever think of not living here in Jerusalem?

What are some of the misconceptions about what you’re doing? How do you know when people don't understand what you are trying to do?

What international audience do you think is most influential here?

What do you think are the biggest misconceptions of this community you mention, the American Evangelical Christian community, about what is going on here?

What would be your one message to international audiences about how to support your work?