Common Ground Deconstructing Walls A Palestinian-Israeli dialogue
- volpoinbal
- Apr 29
- 11 min read
Updated: Jun 17
Dialogue & Partnership
WHEN: June 14-15, 2024
WHERE: Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, Schillerplatz 3, 1010 Wien
This symposium series presents an intervention of art and activism promoting dialogue and understanding within the diverse and sometimes divided Viennese society — and beyond, regarding Palestine and Israel.
In the wake of deepening divisions, dehumanization, and violence — From the ethnic cleansing in 1947, and throughout the years of occupation culminating in the Hamas massacre on October 7th and the ongoing genocide in Gaza — the events will explore possible paths to accountability and reconciliation by engaging experts, artists, and representatives from human rights and civil society organizations across the region and Europe.
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The first event in the series, Dialogue and Partnership, will examine how to build meaningful conversation and cooperation under conditions of structural inequality, occupation, segregation, and power imbalances.
Common Ground – Deconstructing Walls is a four-part symposium series, of which Dialogue and Partnership marks the beginning.
This project is funded by SHIFT, a funding program of the City of Vienna for alternative, artistic practices in decentralized cultural work.
The events require pre-registration at no cost.
*Registrations for individual events below
Symposium Overview
In the Face Of | امام | אֶל מוּל Video Installation, Rafat Zrieq
In the face of vastness
In the face of terror
In the face of cruelty
In the face of the endlessness of cruelty
In the face of burdenIn the face of their rights; in the face of our obligations
In the face of a storm of feeling that does not fade with generationsIn the face of injustice;
in the face of silenceIn the face of cries
In the face of the absence of rights
In the face of the absence of voice
In the face of the absence of legitimacy
In the face of all that is written hereand all that might still be written—but has not—
stands Rafat Zreiq.
In Imam, Palestinian Arab Israeli artist Rafat Zreiq turns his lens toward Holocaust survivors—not to document, but to listen. Entering the vast terrain of Jewish memory, he chooses restraint, seeking not to represent the Other but to make space for them.
His act of quiet listening is not passive. It is a demand for mutual recognition:"I acknowledge your wound—do you see mine?"
Against the monologic weight of institutional memory, Zreiq proposes a different model: not testimony as a one-way telling, but dialogue as shared presence. As a Palestinian in the space of Holocaust remembrance, he asks not to be erased—but to be seen.
This exhibition is a call to rethink memory as a meeting place—where pain is not compared but recognised, and where the possibility of shared humanity begins.
Curator Dr. Eli Bruderman
14.6 10:00 Opening Assembly
We begin with a moment of silence for the victims of the ongoing war, followed by an introduction to the symposium’s theme: dialogue and partnership. As the first in a series of four events, this assembly sets the stage for conversations on how art and activism can drive accountability, reconciliation, and a shared future beyond division.
Key speakers: Dr. Thabet Abu Rass and Dr. Dov Khenin.
14.6 11:00 Building Solidarity Across Asymmetry: Addressing Genocide, Occupation, and Structural Injustice panel
This panel brings together voices from Palestine, Israel, and Europe to explore both the possibilities and the limits of dialogue across deep political and social divides.
Framed by the ongoing genocide and war crimes in Gaza, and shaped by decades of occupation, systemic inequality, and segregation, the discussion will focus on the urgent need to move beyond rhetoric and toward meaningful, collective action.
Panelists will draw on their expertise and lived experience to share strategies for addressing the power structures shaping the Israeli-Palestinian context. They will explore how solidarity can emerge in the face of violence, inequality, and occupation, and discuss ways to build partnerships despite deep divides, while addressing the challenges and potential of cultivating dialogue across conflict and separation.
Panelists: Arab Aramin, Robi Damelin, Dr. Thabet Abu Rass, Dr. Dov Khenin
Moderator: Shoura Hashemi
14.6 15:00 Artivism: Methods, Tensions, and Practice workshop
This workshop invites artists, activists, and cultural workers from diverse contexts to share experiences and strategies of creative resistance in the face of war, repression, and systemic injustice. Rooted in the struggle for justice in Palestine, Israel and beyond, we will explore the role of culture in challenging power, building solidarity, and imagining structural change.
Together, we’ll reflect on the ethical and political stakes of cultural work in times of crisis—and consider how we can act with clarity, responsibility, and collective purpose.
14.6 19:00 The Gaza Mono-Logues - Reading by Oula Khatib. Music performance by Nemat Battah
ASHTAR Theatre is a dynamic Palestinian theatre company based in Ramallah. Combining professional theatre productions with community-focused programs, ASHTAR uses art to promote creativity, social change, and dialogue. The theatre brings performances to marginalized communities, ensuring accessibility for all.
The Gaza Mono-Logues is a project started by ASHTAR Theatre in 2010, featuring monologues written and performed by young people from Gaza. These monologues express their struggles, dreams, and calls for change amidst the ongoing hardships. With performances in over 80 cities worldwide, the project continues to raise awareness about the realities faced by Gaza’s youth. The upcoming event presents recent testimonies from Gaza, reflecting the trauma and resilience of young people living through the current war.
15.6 11:00 Challenging Asymmetry: Artistic Collaboration in the Face of Structural Inequality panel
This panel brings together Palestinian and Israeli artists to critically examine the contradictions within peace-oriented art initiatives. Participants will confront how artistic collaborations often risk creating false equivalencies that obscure fundamental power imbalances. The discussion will address practical strategies for maintaining creative partnerships that acknowledge Palestinian liberation struggles while rejecting superficial "dialogue" models that normalize oppression. Panelists will explore how art can serve as both a site of resistance and a space for imagining coexistence without requiring Palestinians to abandon their demands for justice and full rights. The conversation aims to move beyond performative solidarity toward artistic practices that meaningfully challenge power structures, both global and interpersonal, while preserving the possibility of a shared future.
Panelists: Rafat Zrieq, Caitlin Gura, Ruth Katz, Osama Zatar
15.6 14:00 Co-Creating a Framework for Partnership workshop
This public workshop invites active participation and is grounded in the contributions of our guests from Israel and Palestine. Together, we will engage in a collaborative process to develop principles and strategies for building partnerships in the context of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the displacement of Palestinian communities, and the systemic inequality in access to resources, political power, and basic human rights. We will focus on addressing these structural power imbalances and finding ways for both communities to engage in meaningful, lasting dialogue despite the challenges created by these deeply rooted conflicts.
15.6 17:00 OneState Embassy – Diplomatic Art Performance
The OneState Embassy Passport is a performative, collective artwork presented by OneState Embassy—a conceptual project founded by Palestinian and Israeli artists. In this live diplomatic action, participants are issued passports that reject the logic of nation-states and assert a borderless, civic identity grounded in shared humanity. Each passport page features original contributions by artists from conflict and post-conflict zones, forming a plurality of responses to the structural violence of borders, inequality, and exclusion. Our intervention draws on the aesthetics of statecraft—documents, rituals, and authority—only to subvert them. We imagine citizenship not as a mechanism of exclusion, but as a commitment to civil responsibility, mutual recognition, and universal equality. This performance invites participants to engage critically with dominant structures of identity and power, and to take part in a living archive of solidarity that refuses division and affirms belonging beyond the nation.
15.6 18:00 Closing Assembly
To conclude the symposium, we warmly invite you to join us for a communal dinner and a glass of wine as we conclude the symposium together. This informal gathering offers space to connect, exchange impressions, and reflect on the conversations sparked over the past two days. The evening will feature an artist's talk with Rafat Zreik about his work In the Face Of, and closing remarks by Arab Aramin and Robi Damelin of the Parents Circle – Families Forum, whose personal stories embody the difficult but essential work of reconciliation.
We look forward to sharing this final moment together—around the table, in dialogue, and in solidarity.
KEY SPEAKERS & PARTNERS
The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF)
A unique organization made up of nearly 800 Israeli and Palestinian bereaved families. Since itsestablishment, the members – all of whom have lost a family member to the conflict – have undertaken a joint effort, during ongoing violence, to transform their incredible loss and pain into a catalyst for reconciliation andpeace. They choose to convert anger and revenge, helplessness, and despair, into actions of hope. PCFF is afully joint Israeli-Palestinian organization at all levels. With more than 25 years of experience in implementing reconciliation and peace education programs in Israel and the West Bank, the organization's bereaved members speak publicly at over 300 reconciliation, dialogue and public events each year, and operate educational, public awareness, and advocacy projects that foster humanization and empathy towards the "other", both Israelis and Palestinians.
Arab Aramin lost his beloved sister Abir in 2007, when she was shot and killed outside her school by an Israeli border police officer. He is a second-generation member of the Parents Circle – Families Forum; his father, Bassam Aramin, served as its Palestinian Co-Director. In the aftermath of profound personal loss, Arab chose the path of joint peace activism, committing himself to dialogue and reconciliation.
Robi Damelin’s son, David, was killed by a Palestinian sniper in 2002 while guarding a checkpoint near a settlement during his army reserve service. She speaks to Israelis, Palestinians, and audiences all over the world to demand that reconciliation be a part of any peace agreement. Robi was named a 2015 Woman of Impact by Women in the World and was also selected by the Joan B. Kroc institute for Peace and Justice at the San-Diego University as a woman peace maker. She is the protagonist featured in the prize-winning documentary, One Day after Peace. Robi was invited to brief the Security Council at the United Nations in May 2022.
Dr. Dov Khenin
A former Member of Knesset (2006–2019) and a prominent figure in efforts to promote cooperation between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel. Representing the Hadash party and later the Joint List, he focused his legislative work on advancing social equality, environmental protection, and labor rights, with particular emphasis on fostering cross-community collaboration. Following his parliamentary career, Khenin became a leading figure in Standing Together, a grassroots movement that organizes Jewish and Palestinian citizens around shared social, economic, and political goals. His work addresses structural inequalities and seeks to build a civic framework based on mutual recognition and democratic participation.Through both political and civil society channels, Khenin has contributed to initiatives aimed at strengthening a shared society in Israel, emphasizing the importance of partnership, dialogue, and policy-driven change.
Dr. Thabet Abu Rass
A political geographer and a leading expert on Palestinian society in Israel and Jewish-Arab relations. He served, in the last 10 years, as Co-Executive Director of The Abraham Initiatives and is affiliated with the Van Leer Institute and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES). Dr. Abu Rass is one of the founders of “A Land for All”. He previously lectured at Ben Gurion University and Sapir College, focusing on ethnic relations, land policy, and regional development. Dr. Abu Rass holds a Ph.D. in Geography and Regional Development and Middle East Studies from the University of Arizona. He played a central role in drafting the "Future Vision" documents for Palestinian citizens of Israel and is a prominent advocate for Bedouin rights in the Negev. He has served on the boards of Hand in Hand schools, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), and Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. His work addresses land planning, minority-majority relations, and civic equality through policy initiatives, education, and public advocacy.
Rafat Zrieq
A Palestinian Arab citizen of Israel, Art Photographer from Nazareth. His life and work are shaped by the tensions of belonging—between identities, languages, histories. Trained as a photographer at Camera Obscura College of Arts in Tel Aviv, and later in art and education at Oranim College, Zreiq has spent decades navigating the space between presence and marginalization. His professional journey began in documentary photography, working alongside journalist Amira Hass at Haaretz, where he bore witness to the intersections of Palestinian and Israeli realities. He later became a photography educator at the Nazareth School of Film and served as director and jury member for local photography initiatives, believing that art must remain grounded in community. Zreiq’s biography is marked by a continuous search for dialogue—not only between cultures, but between individuals. As a Palestinian living within Israeli society, he moves carefully between roles: observer, listener, artist, and citizen. He is drawn to those who live at the edges—Holocaust survivors, Bedouin children, the displaced, the overlooked—not out of voyeurism, but from an ethical commitment to recognition. Through education, exhibitions, and activism, Zreiq’s path is rooted in the possibility of shared space. Not a space of agreement, but of acknowledgment. His life’s work insists: true listening begins when we recognize not only the pain of the other, but allow our own pain to be seen in return.
Caitlin Gura
Caitlin Gura received her MA in Austrian studies at the University of Vienna in 2018 and her BA in French literature at Trinity College (Hartford, CT) in 2013. She was a US Fulbright Combined Grantee to Austria from 2013–2014. She became an assistant curator at the Jewish Museum Vienna in 2018 and then a full curator in 2023. She has worked on various exhibitions and catalogues, such as Without a Home: Kindertransports from Vienna (2021), The Vienna Rothschilds: A Thriller (2021), and 100 Misunderstandings about and among Jews (2022), and co-curated the exhibitions Who Cares? Jewish Responses to Suffering (2024), and Viennese Nostalgia: Connected Memories of Emil Singer (2024). Her most recent project No Room for Discussion? An Intervention about the World since October 7, 2023 is currently on view until September 14, 2025.
Shoura Hashemi
Shoura Hashemi was born in Mashhad, Iran, in 1982 and spent her early years there. Together with her family, she fled to Austria in 1987, where they were granted political asylum. After studying law in Vienna, Shoura Hashemi graduated from the Diplomatic Academy. She worked for 15 years in the diplomatic service of the Foreign Ministry, including positions at Austrian representations in Brussels, Geneva, and Jakarta. Starting from September 2022, she documented events within the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protest movement in Iran and became involved as an activist. In August 2023, Shoura Hashemi joined Amnesty International and, together with Stephanie Geier, forms the co-directorship of the Austrian section.
Dr. Ruth Katz
Ruth Katz is an Israeli-born musician and educator, currently based in Vienna. She holds doctorate degree from Stanford University, California. Born in Jerusalem, Katz grew up in an immigrant neighborhood, where her Palestinian neighbors became like family. This early experience shaped her enduring belief in the possibility of coexistence. After returning from the U.S., Katz led the music department at Ironi Alef High School for the Arts in Tel Aviv. There she founded a long-running youth exchange program with Germany and Austria, exploring the role of art during the Holocaust. The project fostered dialogue, empathy, and cross-cultural friendships. Alongside her musical work, Katz has been engaged in activism. She has been a member of Checkpoint Watch and also worked with the Villages Group in the Palestinian village of Salem near Nablus and south mount Hebron . Today Katz is a prominent member of OneState Embassy Art Collective.
Osama Zatar
Osama Zatar, born in Ramallah, Palestine in 1980, is a sculptor and political artist whose work is deeply rooted in his lived experience of displacement and political unrest. He studied sculpture under Paul Taylor and earned his Master of Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 2014, under the mentorship of Heimo Zobernig. During his time at the academy, he co-founded the OneState Embassy art collective with an Israeli colleague. What began as a collaborative artwork evolved into a symbolic and artistic embassy for unity, representing their shared vision of inclusivity beyond political divisions.
Zatar’s artistic practice draws heavily from his personal history—growing up amid occupation, enduring borders and checkpoints, and navigating life as a Palestinian married to an Israeli woman. These realities have shaped his identity and artistic voice, which speaks powerfully against segregation and separation.
Oula Khatib
A writer and theatre director with a background in psychology and dramatic arts. She has extensive experience in writing, directing, and performing across various artistic mediums. In Damascus, she created impactful works such as Hijab Story, a documentary on women's experiences with the veil, and Syrian Flat, a play exploring interfaith marriage challenges. She also collaborated with the UN on The Lovers, a children's play. Since relocating to Vienna, she has directed Refugee in Wonderland and its pilot adaptation, acted in the film Earth Shine, and participated in public readings. Her recent work includes contributing to a book and directing a theatrical performance in Berlin.
Nemat Battah
A Palestinian-Jordanian singer, oud player, composer and educator. She is currently based in Helsinki, Finland, where she is a lecturer and Vice Head of Sibelius Academy’s Global Music Department. Nemat is trained in traditional Arabic music. In her own music she explores and navigates her experiences of transgenerational war trauma as a person of Palestinian heritage whose family was forced into exile from Palestine to Jordan in 1948. She also collaborates with internationally renowned artists in Finland and abroad.
