“I See Your Pain, Despite Mine” Radical Empathy and Rehumanisation

Discussion Evening with an Opportunity for Exchange

In times of deep-seated conflict, growing polarization, and painful division, we invite you to a space of courageous listening and radical empathy.  

Palestinians and Jews for Peace is a group of Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, and other emancipatory friends united in
solidarity who are committed to nuanced dialogue and to treating one another with compassion and respect in order to challenge existing narratives about Israel/Palestine.

People in this group experience discrimination or privilege in very different ways, e.g., through antisemitism, racism, homophobia, and transphobia. We would like to use these intersecting, overlapping, and at times seemingly contradictory forms of being affected and not being affected as a starting point for a broader discussion about belonging, conflict, and humanity. Rather than reinforcing entrenched positions or moral certainties, this event dares to engage with contradictions and complexity.

We reflect on how identity politics—as important as it is for making structures of oppression visible—can sometimes also harden boundaries and obscure our view of shared, intersectional struggles. How do inherited trauma, grief, and fear—often left unspoken—shape our ability to feel empathy for one another? And how do they influence what we are willing to hear or say?

For here in Germany, too—and especially so—marginalized groups are pitted against one another, most notably in the discourse on Israel/Palestine, which is often conducted using alarmingly dehumanizing language. This further normalizes racist and anti-Semitic sentiments, both in various parts of the left-wing movement and in society as a whole. Ultimately, right-wing forces benefit from this polarization and division, which is why a radically empathetic approach
is perhaps more important now than ever before.

This is a call to protect solidarity—especially in difficult times.

Free admission—please register in advance by emailingpresse@kulturfabrik-krefeld.de. 

About:Palestinians and Jews for Peaceis a group of Palestinians, Jews, and allies from Cologne and the surrounding area. Since October 2023, the group has been working on a volunteer basis to promote nuanced dialogue, respectful interaction, and peaceful coexistence. The focus is on diverse perspectives as well as a shared commitment to combating violence, racism, antisemitism, and anti-Palestinian racism.

The event is taking place in cooperation with theVilla Merländer Nazi Documentation Center.