Arab and Jew: Return to the Promised Land
Film and Discussion with
Eileen Babbitt
Assistant Professor
of International Politics
Fletcher School
of Law & Diplomacy
Behind the political events in the Middle East are the ordinary Israeli and Palestinian civilians living in the midst of violent conflict and continual uncertainty. In 1988, Baltimore filmmaker Robert Gardner and Pulitzer Prize-winning former New York Times Middle East correspondent David K. Shipler created the award-winning documentary film Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land. In the 1988 film, a number of Israeli and Palestinian civilians—journalists, philosophers, social workers, and mothers—shared their attitudes and perceptions about the conflict.
The concept behind the 2002 documentary, Return to the Promised Land, involved re-interviewing many of these Israelis and Palestinians to see how their views have or have not changed after the Oslo peace process. In examining Israeli and Palestinian attitudes across time, this provocative film searches through their emotions and collective stories for the points of conflict and the regions of accord.
Following the film, Eileen Babbitt, Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, will lead a discussion. Babbitt is the co-author of “Women and the Art of Peacemaking: Data from Israeli-Palestinian Interactive Problem-Solving Workshops” in Political Psychology (1998) and author of “Imagine Coexistence: A Research Study for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees” (2002). Her professional affiliations includes work with the Council on Foreign Relations, the Program on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Women in International Security, and the Program on Negotiation.
This Program on Negotiation Film Series screening is offered in conjunction with the Search for Common Ground Film Festival at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Club strives to promote a constructive dialogue between theoreticians and practitioners in the field of negotiation and conflict resolution, improve the implementation and evaluation of negotiation and conflict resolution practices, and contribute to the development of an interdisciplinary approach in the field of negotiation and conflict resolution.
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments provided.
The Program on Negotiation Film Series seeks to explore negotiation and conflict resolution through the medium of film. Other films in the 2002-2003 Film Series include:
- No Man’s Land
- KANEHSATAKE: 270 Years of Resistance
- Our Friends at the Bank
- Do The Right Thing and
- Final Offer
For information on the PON Film Series, contact Jeremy Bird at jcbird@law.harvard.edu or at 617-495-1684 x538.
