Official site of The Sulha Way
These are the folks who organize this event – which takes months and months of planning. Literally, just days after the one I filmed ended, they had already begun to plan the next one. This incredibly dedicated and passionate group isn’t some top-heavy bureaucracy with fat coffers, but rather a loose affiliation of individuals who simply decided that they couldn’t sit by and watch the devastation any longer without doing something. Their incredible talent, hard work and vast network of connections are what make this gathering possible. They are reaching out to anyone who’s interested in learning about resolution and/or ways to get involved in the project, so if you visit only one of these links, make it this one: http://www.sulha.com

Parents’ Circle – Families Forum
This is the group that Rami (Smadar’s father) and Ali (Yusef’s brother) belong to. (Smadar was killed by a suicide bomber in 1997, while Yusef was killed by an Israeli soldier in 2000.) A coalition of families from both sides of the conflict, their peacemaking and dialog work has already had an enormous impact in the lives of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians. They’ve even got families of suicide bombers and bombing victims involved with one another now, not to mention an immensely successful calling program that encourages people to reach out to “the other side”, workshop programs for kids, etc. Their commitment to peace is truly awesome and inspiring - so please check them out.  www.theparentscircle.com

The Middle Way
While definitely a more esoteric group, their work is nonetheless both powerful and provocative.  Primarily focused around peaceful demonstration – silently walking through what are usually contentious, conflict-ridden points of contact between the two side, at borders for instance -  their peaceful presence offers a sharp contrast to the violence and anger that usually prevails. By not entering into any dialog with the villagers they pass, but simply engaging their minds, they truly invite a new way of thinking. www.middleway.org

Just Vision
Although I didn’t work directly with this group in making the film, I had run across them so many times in my research I just had to find out who they were. As it turns out, they are also working on a film about the reconciliation effort (working title “Encounter Point”) – one I definitely recommend that you see. But the film is just a very small part of their work. They literally have dozens of interviews with peacemakers from all over Israel and Palestine on their website – truly an incredible patchwork of voices and perspectives. They also have tons of links and lots of other resources for you, so if you really want to learn just what you’ve been missing on the peace work side of things, please visit them at www.justvision.org