Thinking Forwards: Ideas Towards a Peace Plan, Cape Town

Thinking forwards: Ideas Towards a Peace Plan

September 25th at 7.00pm

Is there any way out of the Israel-Palestine nightmare? We are so caught up in the horror of the present, that thinking long-term is difficult. But creative discussion about possible alternatives is still essential. We’ve asked a famous Jewish South African and a high-profile Israeli activist for their opinions.

This event is the first in a series over the next months in which the JDI seeks to engage with a wide range of voices and stakeholders. It was prompted by Albie Sachs himself, who approached us with this idea.

All of these discussions will be guided by the pursuit of a just resolution for all. In Israel and abroad, so many push a narrative that a secure and empowered Palestine is not just an attack on the security of Jews but incompatible with Jewish identity. Both speakers’ work has, in some way, been guided by their Jewish identities, but their careers have been marked by estrangement from many official structures in the Jewish community. For our first event, we have chosen to reckon with and rethink Jewish identity’s relationship with the State of Israel as a necessary step in finding solutions for all those who live in the region.

Justice Albie Sachs offers an insider’s view of how South Africa resolved its own apartheid crisis, and some suggestions for an Israel-Palestine resolution that breaks out of the one-state-two-state mould. For a biography of Justice Sachs, click this link.

Dr Elana Sztokman is an outspoken Israeli sociologist, activist, feminist and critic, who has ideas about how a compassionate society might be imagined and created. For more about her, see her website at this link.

The discussion, chaired by Anton Harber, will be held at venues in Cape Town and Johannesburg, with Zoom links between the centres and with Dr Sztokman in Israel. Attendance is free. Venue details will be provided to those who register.