| The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict has sparked a debate in Canada (and elsewhere) that is as intractable as the conflict itself. This study looks at two Diasporas, Palestinian and Jewish, in the Toronto area, as typical of the challenges within these communities worldwide when it comes to deeply understanding the Other. Collective memory, a representation of the past shared by a group, is viewed in this study as a prime factor in how conflicts become intractable, insulating the groups from deeply acknowledging the Other and the Other's history. I look at three primary catalysts that concretize memory within groups: identity, trauma and victim beliefs. This study engages in the experiences and memories of these experiences in the eight participants who I have interviewed for this study. The participants engaged in two interviews, a narrative interview where they shared their stories with me and an interaction interview where they responded to the stories of the Other. This research is not a peace plan or even a path towards peace, but is a process of unraveling. As the researcher I unravel my own victimhood as a Jew from a family of the Shoah. I am also unraveling two seemingly disparate realities, the ways in which collective memory has become ensconced within the two groups and the reality that the two groups' situations today are starkly different. While both groups have experienced very traumatic histories, the trauma of Occupation is ongoing for Palestinians. This research offers an alternative to typical "dialogue", acknowledging the importance of hearing the Other's stories within a framework of social justice and human rights. While recognizing the importance of sharing in the experiences of the Other, the Jewish community has a greater responsibility to alter the situation on the ground for those living in the Occupied territories. |
