What is Middle Meets and who is participating?
Middle Meets is a series of facilitated proactive dialogues between college-aged students, developed in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict that was initiated by a group of university students in response to the current conflict in Israel. The dialogues include Jewish and Palestinian Israeli students from various universities and academic backgrounds in Israel, as well as American students. Encouraging Complex Discourse. By students. For students.
Middle Meets' GOAL is for participating students to bring their personal experiences to theirs and other university communities to develop sustainable guiding principles for complex discourse and dialogue.
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Why Middle Meets? On many campuses, discussions about the Israeli / Palestinian conflict often devolve into rigid binaries, reducing complex issues to simplistic narratives of "us vs. them" or "absolute good vs. absolute evil." This polarization and lack of nuanced dialogue stifles critical thinking, silences alternative viewpoints, and fosters division. It also led to a lack of any dialogue at all.
This concern drove a group of students to design Middle Meets to reverse this trend and to confront the increasingly polarized discourse on Israeli and American campuses by recognizing the urgent need for a more nuanced and informed dialogue. The result? They designed a model for academic discussions that values complexity, embraces contradictions, and honors diverse perspectives.
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Who is leading Middle Meets?
The student-led leadership team includes Jewish and Palestinian students from Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University, under the auspices of the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Advising and facilitating is Professor Elitzur Bar-Asher Siegal, Professor at the Hebrew University, former visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, and the University of Chicago.
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What are Middle Meets primary objectives? Middle Meets is committed to promoting a richer, more inclusive discourse that encourages understanding and intellectual growth in order to:
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Address Hate Speech Across The Political Spectrum — Whether from the radical left, radical right, or elsewhere — American and Israeli campuses are ripe for honest intellectual discussions.
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Promote Informed, Compassionate, and Multifaceted Discourse — Discussions are rooted in acknowledging the complexity of the issues enhanced by personal knowledge, curiosity, and the empathy needed to challenge rigid ideologies.
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Create a Sustainable Platform for Dialogue — Academic settings and resources (texts and discussion groups) provide a lasting framework for diverse dialogue to explore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Participants are also encouraged to not censor themselves whatsoever, but they are encouraged to be aware of the complexity and trigger factors their words withhold.
Develop a Student-Led Model for Complex Discourse — Driven by student leadership, this model is crafted for lasting academic discourse on intricate and contentious topics.
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How are the Dialogues Structured? What is the Approach? Middle Meets nurtures academic discussions that address the complexity and sensitivity needed to understand diverse perspectives, Sessions begin with virtual dialog and then move to in-person 1-on-1 meetings & small group discussions.
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Separate Israeli and American dialogue groups (Israeli groups are composed of both Arab and Jewish students) meet independently and then Jewish and Palestinian students in Israel meet with American students of the same composition.
Interactions prioritize active listening, which helps participants develop the skills necessary for thoughtful and nuanced discussions.
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What are the Session Guidelines?
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Group Composition: Diverse groups reflect a wide range of perspectives and consist of 15-20 students from both the U.S. and Israel (including Palesinians and Jews).
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Diverse Reading Materials: Academic texts representing multiple viewpoints and themes such as colonialism, genocide, academic politicization, violence, conflict, identity politics, hate speech, and solidarity are carefully selected to indirectly touch on aspects of the conflict to provoke rich, insightful discussions. We begin by discussing broad topics that have universal relevance, allowing participants to explore these issues in general terms. As the dialogue progresses, we then gradually narrow the focus to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, building on the insights gained from the earlier, more abstract discussions.
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Facilitated Dialogue: Experienced facilitators guide the rich, insightful discussions to deepen the dialogue, fostering a more interconnected and empathetic discourse across national and cultural lines.
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The initial focus is on deep listening, with dialogue being gradually introduced and expanded as familiarity and trust among participants grows.
In the next phase, the goal is for students from Israel and the U.S. to come together to engage in discussions that build on the trust and understanding developed in their initial virtual group sessions to deepen the dialogue, fostering a more interconnected and empathetic discourse across national and cultural lines.
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What are Our Expected Outcomes?
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Facilitate Meaningful Discussions: Enable diverse groups to engage in thoughtful discussions on sensitive topics stemming from numerous perspectives including those focused on anti-Semitism, anti-Islamism, Judeo-centrism, and Palestinian-centrism.
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Encourage Independent Dialogue: Inspire participants to continue the discussions independently, fostering an appreciation for the value of nuanced and informed dialogue.
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Develop Guidelines for Future Discourse: Collaboratively create a document that outlines guidelines for future discussions, while also refining and improving the program's format.
Launch a Social Media Presence: Establish a dedicated social media channel to document the project's progress and achievements, to share and elicit broader audience interaction and impact.
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How Can Your Support Middle Meets?
Your support will help to promote a more thoughtful, empathetic, and informed dialogue on complex issues, fostering understanding and collaboration among future leaders. All donations will directly fund critical components for the success of this transformative dialogue initiative including personnel, venue expenses, guest speaker honorariums, and essential resources. Middle Meets is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
To speak with our team and review our 2024-2025 budget, please contact Robyn Stein at stein.robyn@gmail.com or What's App 917.763.0484.
