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Interview Questions for Ofer Shinar

Where are you from and how did you get involved in the peace work you are doing?

What do you mean by "rebellious lawyering--" you mean more activist?

What were some of the questions people had when you were approaching organizations with ideas for a truth and reconciliation process? What were some of their hesitations?

What did you see when you were studying other conflicts about how they negotiated the past? What was that process?

Do you think there can be some constructive comparisons made between this conflict and others?

Can you talk more about the reverence you mentioned toward bereaved parents?

What do you mean the school presentation “works?”

What do the parents from the Bereaved Families Forum talk about when they do school presentations?

Do you think this emotional breakthrough is achieved simply by a Palestinian coming to an Israeli school or an Israeli going to a Palestinian school?

What’s your role in the Forum?

Tell me about the Truth and Reconciliation theater piece.

What is so difficult about the Truth and Reconciliation play?

Do you think an actual commission like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission shouldn’t be set up then until after a political agreement has been signed?

What would a reconciliation process look like, concretely?

You talked about bereaved families having a special place in society, but there are certainly bereaved people on both sides who do not share the Forum’s message but call for revenge.

Some people believe that what you are doing is actually putting them more in danger. How do you convince people that that’s not the case?

What are the biggest challenges you face in your work?

Have you personally gotten support from your community for what you are doing?

Have you encountered resistance to the work you are doing?

What do you mean when you say you have to be a little naïve to do peace work?

Comparing what you’ve seen in other places, what kind of shared understandings do you think have to be in place for a reconciliation process to work?

Forgiveness probably means different things to different people. Do you think it’s a word or a concept that has any real meaning here?

What do you think most scares people away from the process of reconciliation?

How has the conflict affected you personally?

What is the hardest thing about devoting all of your time to this work?

Have you met people through this work, whom you wouldn’t have otherwise met?

Have you gone to places in this region that you might not have gone to otherwise?

How do you think that Israelis should support the work of the Forum?

Is it the same on the Palestinian side that the Bereaved Families Forum should do things for Palestinian society rather than Palestinians supporting the Forum?

What about people outside the region? How should they support your work?

Which international audience do you think is most influential here?

What are some of the misconceptions you think people in the States have?

We talked a bit about why previous peace processes failed. Is there anything more you want to say about what was missing in the past?

Who do you think has to take charge of that aspect of the peace process reconciliation?

Can you talk about some of the successes that you’ve seen?

What does the word peace mean to you?