To: Jewish-Palestinian Sustained Dialogue participants and supporters

To: Jewish-Palestinian Sustained Dialogue participants and supporters
Subject: Dialogue crosses another threshold. . .to military training

     The answer is: Yes.
     The question is: Might Palestinian-Jewish living room sustained Dialogue influence military thought and planning?
     Four Jewish-Palestinian Dialogue participants -- women and men -- drove through the security checkpoint into the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. yesterday, Thursday, July 29, 2004.
     NPS is the sole Partnership for Peace (PfP) training center in the United States, and one of only 10 worldwide that serve all 46 PfP partnership nations, including 26 NATO countries. NPS is on the Web at:
                http://www.nps.edu/

We were invited as Dialogue exemplars and facilitators in a classroom of experienced, career U.S. and allied military strategists and implementers from afar studying in the new, little-known program, "Security Building in Post-Conflict Environments" of the Department of National Security Affairs.
Military officers from the United States, Pakistan, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Norway, and Rwanda were in the room, aware that human relationships and networking skills must be mastered to build sustainable governance and cooperating societies in post-war Afghanistan, post-war Iraq -- post-war anywhere.

     For two hours we modeled "Palestinians and Jews in Dialogue," creating a living experience of "Story as Entry to Dialogue."
     Photos are on the Web at https://pix.sfly.com/uQyXTXFb
     Elements of the morning included:
        1. The history, principles, and progress of living room Sustained Dialogue -- and what it is and is not.
        2. Visual exhibits, and printed resources for each participant.
        3. A Palestinian and a Jew model tell their "stories," then each reflecting the other's back.
        4. The attendees pair themselves in dyads for 1/2 hour -- 15 minutes for each one's story. A facilitator keeps time.
                The Listener compassionately hears the storyteller for 10 minutes.
                The last five minutes the Listener explores the Storyteller for more depth and meaning.
                        "Say more about that, it interested me." "What did that mean to you?"
                After 15 minutes, the facilitator tells the Listener and Storyteller to reverse places.
                        Previously hesitant to begin, now they did not want to stop talking and listening.
        5. After 1/2 hour, returning to one group, dyad by dyad the participants share their experiences.
                Minds opened. Hearts were touched. People discovered themselves, one another, new ideas.

     Can one person in a military institution make a difference? Yes.
     Look at our distinguished host, Nancy Roberts, Ph.D., Professor of Strategic Management at the Naval Postgraduate School.
     Devoted to international development and peace operations, Dr. Roberts helped fashion a new curriculum, "Security Building in Post-Conflict Environments," in the Department of National Security Affairs, described at:
                http://peaceops.org/
     Dr. Roberts' books include Transforming Public Policy: Dynamics of Policy Entrepreneurship and Innovation (1996) and The Transformative Power of Dialogue (2002).
     Nancy Roberts is bringing Dialogue and relationship-building into military education and policy.
     She is tapping the "public peace process" as a resource for the military and government process -- an emerging partnership.
     She wrote this morning: "Thank you so much for exposing the students to an alternative way of being in the world. As you saw, they were very receptive and open once they saw its power. I really appreciated your commitment to a full day to be here at NPS with us."

     This innovative day at the Naval Postgraduate School was a direct result of the sustained, dependable, citizen public peace process.
     One woman, Professor Nancy Roberts had a compelling, personal experience of the same 2-hour Palestinian-Jewish Dialogue workshop at the First Annual Northern California Dialogue and Deliberation Conference, described at:
                http://www.pcrcweb.org/conference/workshops.asp
     Within six weeks, she made sure her students, international military officers, were provided a like opportunity.

     We hope you take heart, take notice, and take steps forward where you live.
     You matter.
                        -- L&L