Within-Group Variance as a Facilitator of Dialogue : A Jewish-Arab Israeli Encounter Group Focused on Family Stories

Since October 2000, there has been a great increase in tension between Arabs and Jews in Israel. Recent surveys show that approximately forty percent of Jews in Israel support the prospect of removal of Arabs by their government from the State of Israel. It is clear that the media contributes to a negative and polarized presentation of Arabs and Jews in Israel through its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The present article shows that when a suitable context is created, this polarized negativity still exists but is not the sole model of discourse between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel. The article describes patterns of dialogue developed in a group of eight Jewish and nine Arab students who met together for a year for a workshop entitled, “Life Stories as a Means Toward Co-Existence," led by the first and third authors. Each student interviewed two family members, one from his or her parents' generation, and one from his/her grandparents' generation. The discussions in the seminar fluctuated between mutual inclusion and political confrontations. Both withinand between-group variance emerged among Jewish and Arab participants while listening to the stories. Two basic types of stories were created, those that were “good enough" to be accepted by most of the other group's participants, and those that were “bad enough" and thus rejected by the other side. The article describes the stories told in the group and analyzes the components of “good" and “bad" enough stories. It then examines the contribution of life stories and the attendant model to creation of intra-group dialogue, in marked contrast to the threatening and violent external context.