Peacemaking Revisited

Peace and Justice Retreat

May 28 - June 1, 2026 held at Hilltown Commons, Rensselaerville, NY

Overview

Track Two: An Institute for Citizen Diplomacy (Track Two) was founded Dulce and Michael Murphy in 1980. convened the gathering in its role as a citizen diplomacy organization with networks spanning the Middle East, Russia and the North Pacific region.

This document, generated from meeting recordings, participant notes, AI editing and reader comments, offers a summary of insights from a multi-day Track Twogathering. The convening brought together peacebuilders, civil society leaders, interfaith practitioners, conflict resolution professionals, educators and activists focused primarily on the Israel-Palestine conflict and broader Middle East tensions to share experiences and to generate some new non-state diplomacy ideas.

Members of this group have been demoralized, pained by grieving for lost friends and family, devastated by their inability to change the current circumstances in the Middle East more dramatically. Each has dedicated their life to peacebuilding work through a variety of channels. The meeting began with a deficit of hope but concluded with a buoyant camaraderie that brough hope to all involved. 

Elements of the discussion included:

• The topic of agency. Agency for all involved is critical – to restore dignity, mutual respect, and opportunity to move beyond mere survival. Agency is needed for each party in this (state and non-state) conflict, rather than each speaking as eternal victims. This still includes deep recognition on the part of group members of 'power over' dynamics.

• Israeli’s love of Israel, its roots in homecoming, its communities of care and shared objectives. Many, including those at the gathering, are deeply devastated by the aftermath of October 7 in Gaza, and now Iran and against Hezbollah in Lebanon (distinct from the Lebanese government.)

• Similarly, Iranians love Iran, its rich history, reverence for beauty, arts and literature, and its devotion to education. This despite an oppressive government.

• We often confuse the destination with the journey – the world we want to create with the path to achieving it.

• Rage is powerful, but disciplined rage is effective.

• Discomfort is valuable.

• Bad actors often believe that they are doing good.

• Fragile masculinity is driving destructive policy; when men are reduced to the role of protectors, any perceived failure becomes an existential threat to identity.

• Force is too often mistaken for power. force is not power; force is not safety.

• The same events can evoke very different memories

  • For many Israelis, the intifadas are remembered as Palestinians turning to violence unjustifiably, or even betraying the relative “privileges” Israel gave them compared to Arab regimes.

  • For many Palestinians, the intifadas are remembered as rare moments when Palestinians regained initiative after years of being acted upon by others.

• The Arab and Muslim worlds still carry the insecurity of Western domination

• Much of the Arab and Muslim world is still shaped by the experience of Western colonialism and continuing Western dominance in global affairs.

• One common response is a narrative in which “we” are the righteous and enlightened people, while “they” are powerful barbarians.

• That narrative may be emotionally satisfying, but it also protects us from self-critique. It flattens our relationship with the West into one posture: rejection.

• For Palestinians, and Arabs more generally, self-confidence and agency need to be restored to a sufficient level before there is enough energy and emotional capacity for serious self-critique.

• For Gaza, the central imperative is agency – the right to determine their own future

• Colonization is still fresh for many.

• No one can know better than the people living with the policy.

• We should group people by choices and values rather than by identity.

• “It’s Complicated” can be a dangerous copout.

• Challenge the habit of saying this is a “complex” or “complicated” conflict.

• There are many layers. But saying “it’s complicated” often becomes a way to avoid moral clarity, responsibility, or action.

• That is not nuance. It is evasion.

• Gen Z and follow-on generations require new methods of communication, of essence and of who is invited to our tables.

• Strategic religious engagement in peace talks has disappeared. Reclaiming the name of God may be a start.

• Mobilization around the principles of peace is needed.

• Urgency is required in delivering medications to Gazans and Palestinians under attack in the West Bank. Aid is not reaching through international agencies. A list of organizations that are receiving aid from the US is needed.

• The work ahead requires us to hold several things at once:

  • Moral clarity without self-righteousness

  • agreement on values

  • sharing commitments

  • focus on purpose

  • anger without losing discipline

    aspiration without delusion

  • agency without domination

  • “purity” vs. “clarity”

  • humility without paralysis.

Introductions and Framing

The retreat opened with participants introducing themselves and sharing their backgrounds in track two diplomacy, negotiation, and civil society work. Many expressed deep frustration and grief over recent developments in the region. Despite this, participants voiced cautious hope about finding new peacebuilding approaches. Organizations represented included the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington, Friends of Jahalin, Combatants for Peace, and others.

Track Two framed the gathering's purpose not around producing specific deliverables, but around deepening connections among participants. The agenda was kept deliberately fluid to respond to the group's evolving needs. Early discussions touched on the importance of participants sharing their personal motivations and who they represent before diving into specific issues — a foundation-setting exercise Track Two felt was essential.

Political Power and Citizen Diplomacy

A central and recurring theme throughout the retreat was the tension between citizen diplomacy and political power, especially in the context of ongoing violence. Participants debated whether people-to-people peacebuilding remains meaningful or effective when state violence continues at scale.

Key insights included:

• Fear and a scarcity mindset were identified as core barriers to sustainable peace. Netanyahu's continued hold on power — despite corruption charges — was seen as a product of this fear dynamic, with many Israelis viewing him as their only guarantor of security.

• Iran's regional ambitions were discussed with nuance: participants distinguished between Iranian desires for regional influence and any intent to destroy Israel, arguing that Western media often conflates the two. The October 7th attack was analyzed as Hamas strategically exploiting Netanyahu's perceived arrogance to undermine Israeli confidence, with Iran and Hezbollah maintaining coordination while preserving deniability.

• Participants shared that the slow, incremental nature of citizen diplomacy makes its impact difficult to measure compared to visible military or political actions — yet they emphasized its indispensable long-term value.

• One participant described leading multiple American delegations to Iran, with meaningful human exchanges occurring despite glacial political progress. Another recounted running for county supervisor after September 11th, knocking on thousands of doors in a conservative district and learning to engage across deep divides.

• Dr. King's concept of "good tension" was invoked to discuss how discomfort, when properly held, can lead to growth and connection. The challenge of creating frameworks where people can sit with discomfort without becoming destabilized was seen as central to dialogue work.

The group also raised a linguistic concern — one participant objected to the term "Middle East" as a colonial geographic framing that does not reflect the region's own self-understanding.

Program Adaptations for Conflict Resolution

One participant shared nearly three decades of experience running conflict resolution programs in the region. A notable finding: relocating programs to Hiroshima, Japan significantly increased participants' implementation of conflict resolution skills upon returning home — possibly because Hiroshima's own history of destruction and recovery provided a more resonant context. After October 7th, mixed Israeli-Palestinian group programs became untenable and were replaced with single-country formats. Northern Ireland was repeatedly cited as a model for how deeply entrenched conflicts can, over time, move toward peace.

Religion, Faith, and Social Justice

A dedicated session explored the role of religion in peacebuilding and social justice work. Participants shared personal histories with Judaism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Indigenous spiritual traditions.

Areas of Exploration:

• Religions are human-made institutions with both constructive and destructive potentials. Participants distinguished carefully between religious institutions and the personal faith of individuals, and between Judaism as a religion and the modern State of Israel as a political entity.

• The shadow sides of faith traditions — including their historical use to justify colonization, oppression, and violence — were acknowledged honestly. One participant described watching the Iranian revolution as a child and observing how political contexts reshape religious interpretation.

• Shame was identified as a significant inhibitor of authentic religious expression in interfaith settings.

• Some members of the group expressed the Abraham story of the near sacrifice of his son comes to teach us not to sacrifice our children. 

• Zoroastrianism and Indigenous traditions were highlighted as perspectives often marginalized in interfaith dialogue, warranting greater inclusion.

• The Sulha program — which brings Palestinians and Israelis together in the West Bank through listening circles — was presented as a practical model for heart-to-heart reconciliation rooted in shared presence rather than argument.

• A reflective card exercise using qualities written in Hebrew and Arabic invited participants to explore their personal relationships with values such as humility, grace, responsibility, joy, heroism, and devotion. Discussion of grief included reflections on the physical and emotional healing properties of tears.

• Standards reflecting different groups within each society was discussed with fairness a key principle valued by participants.

The session concluded with discussion of military service resistance in Israel, with conflicting views on conscientious objection versus national defense obligations in the context of the Gaza conflict.

Interfaith Evening Ritual

An evening session brought participants together for shared spiritual practices across traditions:

• A Shabbat/Havdalah ceremony — including the blessing of wine, spices, and candles — framed the Sabbath as a time to imagine a better future. Shiraz wine was suggested as a symbolic bridge to Iran and the broader peace movement.

• A Peruvian shamanic ceremony offered prayers to the seven directions — east, south, west, north, Mother Earth, and celestial beings — incorporating elements from Zoroastrianism and other traditions. The ceremony concluded with a prayer for the blue moon.

• Islamic teachings on the Hajj pilgrimage were shared in depth, including the story of Hajar — an Ethiopian woman who ran between two hills seven times in the desert searching for water before a well miraculously appeared, leading to the foundation of a city and the construction of the Kaaba. Key Hajj rituals were explained: the Tawaf (circumambulation of the Kaaba), the Sa'i (retracing Hajar's steps), standing at Mount Arafat, and the stoning of pillars representing Satan with 49 stones symbolizing personal temptations. The wearing of white ihram garments was explained as a symbol of unity and equality among all pilgrims.

• Varying interpretations of the Abraham and Isaac/Ishmael story were discussed across Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions, with particular attention to the themes of obedience, trust, sacrifice, and divine love. One participant expressed discomfort with interpretations that emphasize obedience over the image of a merciful and loving God.

Difficult Conversations Training

A structured training on engaging people with strongly opposing views shared a practical toolkit developed through peace-building work in Jerusalem. The framework emphasized "influence" over "persuasion," with the following core principles:

• Give up being right — approach conversations with curiosity rather than the goal of winning.

• See the conversation as a role to play — depersonalize the interaction to stay grounded.

• Use open-ended questions to invite reflection rather than provoke defensiveness.

• Dignify the adversary — acknowledge their humanity and concerns even when disagreeing.

• Maintain a psychological "umbrella" — internal tools to avoid being triggered.

• Use "friendly undermining" — gently introduce alternative perspectives without direct confrontation.

Participants practiced these principles through role-playing exercises simulating political disagreements, family conflicts, and interfaith discussions. Reflections afterward explored the tension between maintaining relationships and speaking truth to power — particularly when a conversation partner denies the basic value of human life. Participants emphasized that giving up is sometimes the right choice, that self-care is essential, and that a nurturing conversational energy often proved more effective than aggressive or combative approaches.

Revenge, Reconciliation, and the Path Forward

The final full-day session addressed revenge and healing. Participants described the moral injury experienced by soldiers and the way revenge cycles damage families and communities on all sides. Hiroshima's transformation into a City of Peace was explored as a model: recovery there required not just personal forgiveness but economic reconstruction and strategic international investment analogous to the Marshall Plan.

The Biden administration's response to October 7th was critiqued as militarily focused rather than peace-oriented, with the influence of pro-Israel lobbying groups, parts of the American evangelical communities, identified as a factor in the disproportionate weight given to Israeli versus Palestinian lives in American political decision-making — a dynamic participants viewed as a serious failure of equality and justice.

Revenge is a powerful desire in the aftermath of attack; but revenge unchecked leads to endless destruction and generational hatred. By transmuting the emotions of revenge into powerful directives towards more beneficial goals, leaders actually leverage their emotions to accomplish more than they might have with pure vengeful retaliation. Planning, organizing and focusing on a specific goal allows a response that is ultimately wiser for everyone.

Combatants for Peace was highlighted as an example of people-to-people connection that survives political violence — a community that responded to October 7th with grief and empathy rather than revenge. Plans were announced to bring Combatants for Peace activists on a U.S. speaking tour in September, targeting universities, religious communities, and high schools with a non-binary partnership narrative that challenges both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian polarization.

Other collaborative work discussed included: a citizen assembly for Palestinian Americans; a children's book about Abdelkader for school and library distribution; projects rebuilding U.S. government religious engagement strategy, developing Muslim school curriculum, and working with the Center for Women of Faith and Leadership; urgent humanitarian focus on water, medicine, and food access in Gaza; and work on the Palestine Heritage Trail and the challenges posed by the Abraham Accords.

Participants also discussed the potential for AI-powered platforms to facilitate dialogue between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups, and the importance of peace journalism through initiatives like the Goldziher Fellowship.

Closing Session

The retreat concluded with each participant sharing how the weekend had impacted them. Responses included feeling renewed, hopeful, more connected, and inspired by new friendships and networks. Participants appreciated the in-person format, the quality of the facility, and the freedom to speak openly without pressure to produce formal deliverables.

Track Two announced plans to form a WhatsApp group for ongoing communication and follow-up. Participants were invited to submit photographs and to share something meaningful from the retreat with others in the weeks ahead.