Making Peace in the Middle East
Written by Jan Jaben-Eilon Wednesday, December 15 2010
Snapshot: Sharon Rosen
For three years, Sharon Rosen, 57, has been co-director of the Jerusalem office of Search for Common Ground (SFCG), which was founded in 1982 to transform the way the world deals with conflict: away from adversarial approaches and toward collaborative problem solving. Prior to this position, she served as senior adviser for the non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Washington, D.C. She is also senior editor of the Common Ground News Service-Middle East, www.commongroundnews.org.
Preceding her involvement with SFCG, Rosen co-founded and directed an NGO in Israel that provided skills training – to kindergarten and school teachers, counselors, and business people – in mediation, appreciating diversity in the educational and business workplace, and nonviolent community and organizational management. At the same time she was a faculty member at the Jerusalem Center for Near East Studies. She has facilitated communication and personal development workshops in the fields of business, education, and parenting for thousands of people in countries as diverse as Belgium, Malaysia, Israel, and South Africa.
Born and educated in London, England, Rosen has been living in Jerusalem for 28 years. She and her husband, Rabbi David Rosen, have three daughters and four grandchildren.
Womenetics: What exactly do you do in the Jerusalem office of Search for Common Ground?
Sharon Rosen: I co-direct the office with a Palestinian colleague, Suheir Rasul. As part of a worldwide conflict transformation organization with 36 offices in 22 countries, we are continually in contact with the main headquarters of SFCG in Washington, D.C., as well as other offices around the world, providing information, building regional and global projects together, and giving empathy when needed. The Jerusalem office has projects in four fields: media, leadership development and support, health, and interfaith.
Womenetics: Why are there Israeli and Palestinian co-directors in your office?
Rosen: The SFCG Jerusalem office was founded in 2000 as a representative office of an international organization, and in the past it had always been directed by an international director – usually a diplomat from outside the region – in order to maintain a perception of neutrality in relation to the conflict. Our work is both with the Palestinian and the Israeli populations and their leadership, and it is focused on the process of transforming conflict rather than advocating a specific political stance. Three years ago, SFCG made a decision to employ Israeli and Palestinian co-directors to maintain the perception of neutrality and also to root the office in the local experiences of the region.
Womenetics: What would you say your biggest accomplishments are in your job?
Rosen: Our office comprises both Palestinian and Israeli staff in equal numbers. I think our biggest accomplishment is our ability, as a group of people from the two cultures and nations, to model the sort of cooperation we would like to see in the Middle East. We demonstrate that it can and does work, and the results are to the benefit of both peoples.
Womenetics: What are your biggest disappointments?
Rosen: The recognition that for all the work NGOs are doing in the Middle East to bring peoples together and to promote peace, it will not happen without the will of the political leadership to really want it and to make every effort to bring it about. This seems highly unlikely at present, which means that there is likely to be a lot more bloodshed before we get there. I’m also disappointed that an infinitesimal amount of money is spent on promoting peace in comparison with what is spent on making war.
Womenetics: How do you personally deal with the disappointments and difficulties in bringing together people in conflict?
Rosen: On the whole, with our projects, we don’t find it difficult to bring Palestinians and Israelis together. There may be some resistance at first, generally out of fear, but underneath both sides are interested in meeting people from the other side, and our projects tend to be interesting, meaningful, and beneficial enough for people to take that leap and get over the initial fear. I personally find it more difficult to deal with people in my own society who have more fundamental views than me or take extremist positions. I deal with that by either avoiding, and not wasting energy on those I believe are not open to hearing my views (thus protecting myself), or summoning up some empathy for their positions which can relax the tension and creates a greater openness for discussion.
Womenetics: How do you find peace in your life when you live in a conflict-ridden environment?
Rosen: Two main things: one, a wonderful family life, having my husband, children, and grandchildren around me; and two, Jewish observance, especially Shabbat which cuts me off from news, telephones, and computers and which focuses me on the great blessings of life.
Womenetics: People are using religion increasingly as a divisive element. Do you think it can play a positive role in the Middle East conflict?
Rosen: Although the conflict is basically a territorial one, religion is an integral element of it because it is at the heart of people’s identity. This conflict is also about a lack of acknowledging and respect for peoples’ identities at a very basic level. If religion is not to be part of the problem then it must be part of the solution. The majority of both Palestinians and Israelis see religion as an important aspect of their lives (not to speak of the millions of others for whom Jerusalem is also sacred), and it cannot be ignored in the conflict. Much can be done to raise the voice of religious leaders who do support peace rather than sensationalizing the comments of divisive voices. I personally am involved in several initiatives with religious leaders, particularly of the Abrahamic faiths, who support peace. And I am convinced that given the opportunity, and the media coverage, they could definitely play a positive role in demonstrating that the message of all religions is to pursue peace, not war.
Womenetics: What do you do for entertainment?
Rosen: I often feel I lead too exciting a life so I look for peace and quiet, not entertainment. If you ask what I do outside family, work, a lot of travel, entertaining at home, and being entertained by others, then I like to walk very early in the morning on the beautiful promenade next to my home and to read a good piece of fiction.
Womenetics: What is your biggest dream?
Rosen: An Israel that is at peace with its neighbors, that lives up to its ethical heritage, and is a flourishing and pluralistic environment for my children and grandchildren.
Jan Jaben-Eilon was a founding staff writer of the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Since then, she has been the international editor of Advertising Age magazine and has written for such publications as The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Washington Journalism Review, and Consumer Reports. She is the author of soon-to-be-published (There is) Life After Cancer. Jan and her husband have homes in Atlanta and Jerusalem.
