Discussion: Critical Perspectives on Israel and Palestine
Israelis for Peace is a Berlin-based group of Israeli activists, united by a strong sense of responsibility for contributing to peace, equality, and justice for everyone living in Israel-Palestine. They strive to foster collaboration between critical Israeli voices and international civil society, as a vital front in the struggle for a more just and peaceful future and in combating genocidal violence. Standing Together Vienna is a Jewish-Arab alliance for peace in the Middle East. Comprising members from different backgrounds, the initiative promotes dialogue and co-existence as a means of achieving a just peace in the region.
The panel will discuss the significance of the catastrophe in Gaza in the present political moment and address some of its most pressing aspects, including the situation on the ground, the processes and protests within Israeli society, and the Austrian and German discourse. The event highlights non-violence, justice, and democratic rights and underscores the importance of transnational solidarity and civic courage in times of crisis.
With: Guli Dolev-Hashiloni, Atheer Elobadi, and Alma Itzhaky
Guli Dolev-Hashiloni is a writer and researcher based in Berlin. He is a founding member of Israelis for Peace, holds an MA in Contemporary Middle East Politics (University of Haifa) and an MA in Global History (Freie Universität Berlin) and translates from German and Yiddish to Hebrew. He is currently pursuing a PhD in the Technical University in Berlin relating to the aftermath of genocides. His debut novel „Tsulul“, taking place in a human rights NGO in Tel-Aviv, came out last year in Hebrew.
Atheer Elobadi is a Palestinian and Israeli citizen who grew up in Tira, Israel, where he became politically active early on. He left Israel in 2008 and moved to Austria in 2009, where he became involved in social and political movements, including the organization “Vielmehr für alle” and refugee and homeless aid. He is a co-founder of Standing Together Vienna, an initiative that promotes dialogue and cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians as well as the promotion of peace, justice and equality. He is also a member of the artistic-political collective OneState Embassy, which uses performative art and diplomatic interventions to challenge political structures, promote intercultural dialogue and explore new forms of belonging beyond nation states.
Alma Itzhaky is an artist and researcher, born in Israel/Palestine and currently based in Berlin. She holds a PhD in Philosophy from Tel Aviv University and is currently a Minerva Postdoctoral Fellow at the Leibniz Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung. Her studio practice, rooted in painting and drawing, explores the tension between the narrative and referential potential of drawing and its concrete, material aspects. Working on paper and often on a large scale, her works highlight the performative nature of drawing.