Dennis Fox’s Weblog

Tonight’s Dialogue on the Wall panel discussion in Minneapolis, a primary focus of mine for the past couple of months, is now over. More than 50 people came to look at the exhibit and attend the discussion, bringing a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. It’s too late to go into any detail, but I did want to say a couple of things briefly.

1. Jay Isenberg’s gallery exhibit at Form + Content succeeded in drawing a diverse audience and stimulating a discussion that touched on a wide variety of issues. Many of those in attendance were exposed to perspectives they might not otherwise have encountered. I like to think it was useful for the many Jewish audience members in particular to hear dissident Jewish voices.

2. For some others in attendance, most noticeably the few Palestinians and Palestine solidarity activists I met during the pre-discusision reception, I think the discussion remained frustratingly centered on Jewish concerns. That the panel was composed, in the end, of three American Jews and a Jewish moderator had a lot to do with this. The panel tried to compensate by quickly opening up discussion to the entire audience, allowing people to join the conversation to whatever degree they found comfortable, but this was not a perfect solution. I hope there is some followup to this event that brings local American Jews and Palestinians together on a more equal footing, where Palestinians have equal input on the agenda and the process.

3. No one screamed at anyone, or accused people of being anti-Semites or self-hating Jews. A couple of people told me afterwards that people in Minneapolis don’t scream all that much. Whatever the reason, I was glad to see a group of people with intense disagreements manage to sit in the same room for two hours.

4. I continue to doubt the ultimate value of dialogue for its own sake. I continue to reject the notion that every side of every conflict is equally to blame, or that a solution requires forgetting the past. Justice remains important. One way to justice is through the application of general universal values. Dialogue and understanding may be necessary, but they are clearly not sufficient.

5. It felt good to have so many people thank me afterwards for participating. I know I was the out-of-town guest, but I do believe I got to say things that wouldn’t have been addressed otherwise.

6. It felt just as good when people spoke so highly of my photos of Israel and Palestine. Made me feel like a photographer.

7. Tomorrow morning from 11 to 11:30 Central Time I will be one of several panel and gallery members interviewed on community radio station KFAI  (”Radio Without Boundaries”) on Lydia Howell’s show Catalyst: Politics and Culture (90.3 in Minneapolis, 106.7 in Saint Paul). If this interests you, you can listen online live; the station keeps these interviews available for two weeks.

Good night.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 24th, 2007 at 3:28 am and is filed under Israel/Palestine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.