Describing the confusing and sometimes catastrophic situation in Israel, Palestine and Gaza - or indeed the entire region - as dynamic hardly does justice to the unfolding events. The change in the US presidency from Biden to Trump further complicates the situation. Although there is a ceasefire and the hostages of the terrorist attack taken by Hamas on October 7 are being exchanged for Palestinian prisoners by Israel, Trump is simultaneously fantasizing about a "Middle East Riviera" that is to be controlled by the USA, which means nothing other than annexation. Including the expulsion of the war-torn population.
All of this and so many more unspeakable things happened in just a few months of the 2024/25 winter semester. With the lecture series "Civil society engagement in Israel/Palestine. Voices against the lack of perspective", ASH Berlin succeeded in giving a forum to perspectives from there, from people who, beyond the polarized reporting on war, fear, hatred and terror, were already fighting for togetherness and humanity before the terrible 7 October 2023 - and consistently with deeds instead of weapons, but nevertheless at great sacrifice.
The series gives a voice to people who share their own experiences. The invited activists report to the visitors of the four lectures about their life and work on the ground: in Israel, Gaza or the West Bank. This region in a never-ending state of emergency is their home. However, the focus was not on war and terror or the suffering that each of the speakers (also) revealed, but on the questions of what comes after, how things can go on and what will happen when the guns fall silent permanently.
The guests asked the organizers of the series, Vered Berman, Prof. Dr. María do Mar Castro Varela and Prof. Dr. Bettina Völter, to work against the polarizations in the grand narratives and attitudes.
The following synopsis of the events, it becomes clear, is united by faith and hope for a future.
"Education is not a privilege, it is a right" - Asmaa Abusamra
Personal details: Asmaa Abusamra is a researcher at the University of Oslo on a Scholars at Risk scholarship and Assistant Professor of Education Management at the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza. Her areas of expertise are in higher education reform, strategic planning and AI-driven organizational development. She has led various initiatives to support education in conflict situations - particularly in Gaza - to preserve and secure educational opportunities in times of crisis.
For a "Day 2 after the war", as Asmaa Abusamra formulated her perspective as a guiding principle at the start of the series on November 5, 2024, ideas and preparations are needed. And to find supporters all over the world, we need the courage to think about tomorrow in order to overcome prevailing polarizations.
Abusamra speaks calmly when she talks about the unimaginable. The images in the minds of the listeners develop their own force. She spent 200 days, seven months, teaching during the war. "In August 2024, the last building of my university was destroyed," she reports, but she consistently focuses on the future, on an aftermath. "There are plans to create temporary classrooms. It's about how we can rebuild our academic infrastructure," she says. Gaza is used to wars, she recalls, looking back on the war years 2000, 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2018 in which "fragile infrastructure was destroyed again and again". Around 90,000 students study at the twelve universities in Gaza. Her university was destroyed back in 2014, she reports, but "after the war, the students came, cleaned up and carried on. That's resilience."
It's about people and rights. We, she says, "want to make education possible for children. Because education is not a privilege, it's a right." Abusamra lets the sentence linger and thus achieves a powerful emphasis. In the course of her report, she will repeat it again and again like a mantra this afternoon in the university's Audimax.
When asked how we can help, she explains: "We don't need money from the universities I visit, we need plans for education. For afterwards, after the war. That requires cooperation."
On the limits of unconditionality - Ibrahim Abu Ahmad & Amira Mohammed
About the people: Amira Mohammed is a Palestinian peace activist from East Jerusalem who campaigns for an end to the Israeli occupation and the systematic oppression of Palestinians. Ibrahim Abu Ahmad was born and grew up in Nazareth. The Palestinian-Israeli peace activist, speaker and author currently lives in northern Israel.
Both are co-founders of the influential podcast "Unapologetic - The Third Narrative"which engages diverse groups, including students, journalists, elected officials and policy makers, and offers nuanced perspectives on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. They started their podcast less than three weeks after the attacks on October 7.
María do Mar Castro Varela began by explaining the special nature of this event within the series and emphasized the importance of the so-called "third narrative". Because "the role, the positions, the interventions of people who are Palestinians but live in Israel", she says, are those "who are not taken into account in the discourse, although they make up an important part of Israel's population".
Ibrahim Abu Ahmad describes his motivation drastically and urgently right at the beginning of the event: he has the feeling that "it could be the last opportunity to talk about a future. We wanted to gain new perspectives for the discourse". He, who experienced his youth as a Palestinian in Israel, interprets the polarization in the public sphere after 7 October with a clearly inadequate formula: To be pro-Palestine is to be anti-Israel.... and explains how they want to "occupy the space in between" with the podcast, as he says it exists.
Because: "War is not a soccer match where you hold the flag for your team. At the end of the war, there will be no winners and only losers."
This is where his podcast colleague Amira Mohammed comes in: "The hostages and the thousands of dead in Palestine have become numbers," she says. But we want to tell the stories of these people." These stories create uncertainty and thus challenge the polarized narrative.
The limits of polarization are easily revealed thanks to the complexity of the situation. Ibrahim Abu Ahmad illustrates this with the example of "unconditional support", which the German government also feels obliged to provide. He asks what this means in order to point out that "in Israel, you are supporting a radical government and turning them into representatives of the people". He contrasts this with Palestine's leadership, which "does not allow elections", "is corrupt" and therefore "does not represent the people".
As an approach to overcoming the dilemma, he would like governments to formulate conditions for support. Because they "are a lever to change this. The international community can do something about it. It must be demanded and must not just be a suggestion". Furthermore, the focus should be on providing concrete support to the people on the ground. Half of the population is against the Israeli government. He asks rhetorically: "How can it be that Germany is not allowed to criticize the government, while half of the Israeli population says that the government are fascists?"
His conclusion: "By equating the Israeli government with the people, you are doing violence to them." Amira Mohammed adds elsewhere: "Equating the Israeli population with the Israeli government will lead to more anti-Semitism" and from this derives the consistent demand that "no state should be supported unconditionally".
The pair's podcast earns its name with strong theses like these. The topics and how they are dealt with are "unapologetic" in the best sense of the word. They are concerned with a more precisely portrayed reality and that is precisely why they want to talk about everything and about more than just two sides.
They deal with the question of a boycott of Israeli organizations in a similarly differentiated and intelligent way as they do with the question of unconditional support - precisely because they have different opinions.
Amira Mohammed believes that boycotting Israel is the right thing to do, but also names the limits of her own actions when she says: "I would like to avoid paying taxes because they finance the military. But I can't boycott it." Ultimately, it's about pointing out and demanding alternatives. "You can inform people about non-violent protests," she emphasizes, and thus demonstrate alternatives.
Ibrahim Abu Ahmad picks up on this keyword, who considers boycotts to be legitimate, but would like to see effective measures instead, "measures that benefit people". He is thinking of enabling scholarships, exchange opportunities or empowerment for Palestinian students or female managers. "Lighting a candle does more than cursing the darkness a thousand times," he says. "Boycotting always leads to people being boycotted at some point."
With this in mind, Amira Mohammed emphasizes once again: "Any kind of violence, especially against unarmed civilians, is wrong." Building on this, the question of the prospects for the future can be addressed, because: "There is no way back to October 7 and therefore no way back to October 6 after everything that happened afterwards." First and foremost, people must be rescued, including the Israeli hostages of course. Afterwards, Hamas must be condemned and replaced, as must the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government.
The aftermath - and with this, the two ultimately pick up on Asmaa Abusamra's vision - is crucial, because alongside the condemnations of this and that, we should also know what we are for.
Helplessness - Yariv Lapid
About the person: Researcher and educator Yariv Lapid works as a senior policy advisor for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. He studied history in Israel and Germany, directed the concentration camp memorial in Mauthausen/Austria and worked for Israeli non-governmental organizations dealing with social conflicts.
The different "perspectives on the situation in the Middle East", as Bettina Völter says before beginning Yaref Lapid's descriptions, naturally include the internal perspective from Israel. One aspect in particular that the organizers of the series would like to see as an important piece of the mosaic in the big picture: The civil society engagement there.
Before Lapid gets into the details, he outlines the framework in which he operates. "The combination of the events of October 7 and the current government is unfortunate and a dangerous situation for Israel," he says, adding his own biographical experience: "I can't just ask Europeans for their opinion when it suits me." This is something he learned from his own experience as a young student in Hamburg at the time of Kohl, Thatcher and co. This is important to Lapid, because he is concerned, and this will run through his lecture, with understanding that "the word context is used by everyone, but means different circumstances". The perception of Israel is very different in different contexts. "The events of October 7 have made us aware of the hatred of our neighbors, which envisages the extermination of the Israeli population." This is a position in the extremely polarized conflict. These would confirm and overemphasize the omnipresent reports of the mourners in the Israeli public and media, but what would remain hidden is that "Israel is simultaneously viewed as doing the same thing" when Gaza is bombed.
From this exposure, Lapid makes references to his Holocaust work, where when "looking at the external poles, these can be described very clearly", but "the view into the middle is more complicated". This is where a "cognitive dissonance" arises, whose clever description shows a parallel to the situation today: "The people in Mauthausen drank their coffee every day while people were being killed next door. Today I drink my coffee every day, even though people are dying every day next door in Gaza." Lapid chooses his words carefully and precisely. Everyone in the room feels with him when he confesses: "I feel helpless."
He asks rhetorically: "Is it possible to get over this dehumanization by others?" His answer: "Yes, on a personal level, yes." This is what "his" context has taught him, the listeners understand.
Lapid speaks of the "horror of the Israeli government", within which there are fascist tendencies. He addresses the special role of ultra-Orthodox groups, which are exempt from military service on the one hand, but have an interest in the war continuing on the other. He emphasized the role of the Israeli media, which "report very little and with little empathy about Gaza and the situation there". He confirms what Amira Mohammed pointed out earlier in the event when he explains that "the media hardly reports on personal fates", which is "very disproportionate".
After all the descriptions of the tricky situation of the society in which he lives, he laments the middle ground disappearing between the poles. He finds it difficult to "develop optimism", he confirms, and tries to approach the situation with one of the lessons he learned from the Holocaust: "It's not just bad people who do bad things. There are also good people who do bad things. There are not only bad people in the Israeli government. But their actions make them bad." He concludes that their "moral compass doesn't work in context, so they can't stop it".
His work biography gives him hope; he calls it an "ambiguity tolerance narrative" when he says: "The story ends well."
He derives this belief in a better future from Germany and its handling of the Holocaust, because this is where "the FRG was founded and thus replaced the Nazi country". Today it is a defensive democracy.
Looking at his country, he identifies the reservists as "the most important opposition group against the government", but immediately emphasizes how difficult resistance is in times of war. He therefore hopes for impetus and pressure from outside. "Both sides are dependent on others," he says. "Both should be forced by their partners to show solidarity, in the spirit of humanity."
Yariv Lapid echoes Amira Mohammed and Ibrahim Abu Ahmad, who also call for constructive intervention rather than unconditional support.
"We are not against Israel or Palestine, we are for peace." - Wajih Tmaiza Fawzeya & Yuval Rahamim
To conclude the four-part series, ASH Berlin welcomes Yuval Rahamim and Wajih Tmaiza Fawzeya, two men who are involved in the "Parents Circle - Families Forum" (PCFF) , on January 30, 2025. The PCFF is a unique organization made up of more than 800 Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost a loved one in the conflict.
The Audimax, where the two will be speaking to their plenary session, was occupied by pro-Palestine activists at the beginning of January, giving the conflict in the Middle East yet another level of attention and urgency at the university.
About the people: Yuval Rahamim was eight years old when he lost his father on the second day of the Six-Day War. Instead of avenging his father's death, he realized that reconciliation must be the solution. Just like his colleague, businessman Wajih Tmaiza Fawzeya. The father of five lost his brother Hazem in 1990, when he was only 13 years old, and three of his cousins in 2001. The activist and human rights defender joined the Israeli-Palestinian Forum in 2010 and has participated in many PCFF dialogue programs and meetings between Israelis and Palestinians over the years.
In her introductory remarks, co-organizer María do Mar Castro Varela emphasizes that with the two PCFF representatives, "not only loud voices should be heard," she says, "but also the quiet voices of those who are trying to make a difference on the ground."
The afternoon's theme is "Holding on to Humanity - Shared Grief, Shared Hope: How Do We Heal?" (translated: "Holding on to Humanity - Shared Grief, Shared Hope: How Do We Heal?"). The two do not just explore this question on an individual level. They try to develop an understanding of the unknown person, whom many see as an enemy. Rahamim knows that "all stories are similar". "Everyone has lost someone. You have to understand that the pain is the same on both sides. We want to build and develop solidarity from this." With the PCFF, they have developed various tools to "try to build a bridge across this valley of blood", as Wajih Fawzeya drastically describes it.
On the one hand, there is Joint Memorial Day, the day before the Israeli national holiday, which commemorates the victims of the war. The idea of the PCFF is not to celebrate the war heroes, but to commemorate the victims. They want an event that shows an alternative, which "the government is trying to prevent", as Rahamim reports. However: "Every year, more people come who prefer an event that stands for hope and peace."
The second successful format of the PCFF is school visits. During these dialog meetings, they engage in discussions with 11th and 12th grade students. They estimate that they have now reached around 250,000 pupils in this way.
The approach is as simple as it is impressive: "It's about giving an impression of the other side," explains Rahamim, because: "Everyone in Israel has a story like mine, but no one has heard the story of the Palestinians." Pupils of this age are supposed to start military service a year later. The ministry wanted and wants to ban school attendance, so laws were passed, but the PCFF sued and won. "It's a fight for education," he emphasizes. "Israel is trying to paint a picture of terrorists, but we are not against anything, not against Israel or Palestine, we are for peace." Wajih Fawzeya goes on to say that "there are Palestinians who don't know that Israel is not just soldiers and settlers."
Both are consistently trying to prepare the ground for peace with their grassroots work. However, their insights into their immediate surroundings reveal difficulties, but also how they deal with them. Fawzeya reports that one of his brothers does not believe that what he is doing could bring peace. He reports how he invites Israelis to dinner and eats with them in the garden "so that everyone can see", as he says. "I wish all Israelis a life in safety." When asked about a vision for the future, he wishes for a "world without borders".
His friend Yuval Rahamim thinks of Europe and its history as a role model. "A lot of people died there in the last century, but Europe overcame that and you can travel there today without borders," he recalls, referring to another conflict in the region with regard to the seemingly impossible peace between Israel and Palestine: "Israel and Egypt also achieved peace. I would like to see a Middle East that works like Europe." Israeli society must make the start, "it has to change", he believes. "We as Israel are stronger and therefore we bear the responsibility," he explains, but criticizes that the country has "weak leaders" who "are not prepared to come together on the premise that no more lives will be wasted. Nobody wins here. The only victory is peace."
"We are not losing hope," adds Wajih Fawzeya, who is moved by the words.
Another one of those moments produced by the four events in a row. They are strong, courageous fighters for peace like the guests of the lecture series who make the journey to Berlin and Hellersdorf. In the case of Palestinian Wajih Fawzeya, a journey that took him four days because he had to pass through countless Israeli checkpoints, while his friend Yuval Rahamim was able to fly from Israel to Berlin in just a few hours. This is of course unfair and wrong... and yet the two of them, just like the other guests, give hope and courage!
Text: Denis Demmerle
The series "Civil Society Engagement in Israel/Palestine. Voices against the lack of perspective" was organized by Vered Berman(Parents Circle Friends Deutschland e. V.), Prof. Dr. María do Mar Castro Varela and Prof. Dr. Bettina Völter for ASH Berlin in the winter semester 2024/25, the series was initiated by Dikla Levinger.
