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Events in Gaza and Israel
Adrian Jackson
10/31/2023
All at STOP are profoundly saddened by all the loss of life in Israel/Palestine, following the Hamas attacks in October and the ongoing IDF bombing and siege of Gaza. We profoundly hope that a peaceful resolution to the conflict will be found as soon as possible, and hope that a lasting peace might result.
For people who are interested in how the Theatre of the Oppressed has played a part in the search for peace in the region, please search out Combatants For Peace, an organisation founded by people on both sides of the divide who have been perpetrators and victims of violence. Chen Allon, one of the co-founders, has with his colleagues elaborated a version of TO which he calls ‘The Polarised Theatre of the Oppressed’, which seeks to use TO methodology to enhance the understanding of the other in deeply polarized situations such as the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. We had hoped, and still hope, that at some point in the coming year we will be able to host a training led by Chen.
Also notable in the region for their use of Forum Theatre and TO are our friends at Ashtar Theatre in Ramallah, who have been using the work with their communities for over 20 years. Ashtar is led by wife-and-husband team Iman Aoun and Edward Muallem, and makes work in a variety of forms, touring internationally with professional productions as well as working locally, training young people in ways of using theatre impact their lives in all sorts of beneficial ways. Both organisations are worthy of support, please check them out.