Dear Jewish Community:

When it comes to Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is a diversity of opinions within the Jewish community. One of the things that was made clear from our 2024 community study is a widespread desire for the creation of “safe spaces” to express our respective views on Israel. In response to this need, the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland is partnering with the national organization Resetting the Table to offer our community an opportunity to learn the tools and skills to transcend the “fault lines” within and across our community.

We are looking for 72 participants consisting of three cohorts of 24 individuals. One of the cohorts will be exclusively for young adults ages 22-35, the other two will be inter-generational. Each cohort will include participants who represent a wide range of views on Israel.

Those wishing to participate must be willing to commit to a three-hour in-person workshop followed by a two-hour commitment for a virtual program a month later (see details and available dates below).

IMPORTANT:

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING,

YOU MUST COMPLETE THIS APPLICATION FORM.

Applicants will be notified of their participation by no later than February 15 (due to limited space, filling out the form does not guarantee participation).  

Community Speaking Across Conflict In-Person Workshop

Tuesday March 4 or Wednesday, March 5 or Thursday, March 6

(workshop is held three times; locations TBA)

Time: 3 hours

Resetting the Table’s celebrated workshop offers communication skill-building for charged conversations on Israel and a forum for dialogue across disagreement. Participants will exchange views and experiences around Israel, surface differences and commonalities, and practice communication skills for engaging differences directly and constructively. The workshop builds community capacity to explore disagreements while strengthening relationships, trust, learning, and collaboration.

Virtual Community Town Square

Tuesday, April 8 or Wednesday, April 9

(Town Square is repeated twice and is for 36 workshop participants respectively)

Time: 2 hours 

The Town Square provides a forum for participants to engage in open conversation on charged issues in facilitated, small group discussion. Led by skilled facilitators from Resetting the Table, a Town Square provides a unique opportunity to engage in honest, direct conversation across differences in backgrounds and views. Participants will choose a topic to discuss, such as:

• Roles and responsibilities of American Jews vis-a-vis Israel
• Boundaries of “legitimate” and “illegitimate” criticism about Israel                
• Settlements, borders, and where do we go from here in Israeli-Palestinian relations. 

We are excited to partner with Resetting the Table in our Jewish community as we believe it will lead to greater dialogue and understanding. Please don’t hesitate to contact Bob Horenstein with any questions.