DE-ESCALATION, PEACE AND FREEDOM IN THE MIDDLE EAST: IRANIAN AND ISRAELI VOICES IN DIALOGUE

We are not our regimes.

De-escalation, Peace and Freedom in the Middle East: Iranian and Israeli Voices.

Archenemies. This is the term commonly used to describe the relationship between Israel and Iran. An enmity that will ultimately lead to war, as it did in June 2025.

Was war between these two states something that had to happen?

No, said a group of Iranian and Israeli scholars and artists, that were worrying together since November 2024 about the hostile relationship of their respective countries.

Three days after the breakout of the 12-day-war they published a statement in Hebrew, Farsi and English, urging for a ceasefire and diplomacy. And they stated: “We refuse to accept the inevitability of violent conflict as the only way forward between our nations, Israel and Iran, or their positioning as eternal arch-enemies.” Within a few days over 2400 people signed the open letter, from within Iran and Israel, along with many intellectuals from the Iranian diaspora.

This represents a significant milestone in Israeli–Iranian relations, as it is the first time that intellectuals, artists, academics, filmmakers, and human rights activists have attempted to establish dialogue between two nations whose populations have been pitted against each other for decades.

What are the chances and the challenges of this ambitious project? Human rights lawyer Mehrangiz Kar, editor of the Palestine – Israel Journal Susie Becher, publisher Hillel Schenker, political scientist Mehrzad Boroujerdi and the two historians Lior Sternfeld and Touraj Atabaki will join journalist Solmaz Khorsand February 12 on a conversation about crossing a supposedly insurmountable ditch.

Touraj Atabaki, Emeritus Professor by special appointment of Social History of the Middle East and Central Asia

Susie Becher, Communications Director of the Policy Working Group and Managing Editor of the Palestine – Israel Journal

Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Vice Provost and Dean of College of Arts, Sciences, and Education at Missouri University of Science and Technology

Mehrangiz Kar, Iranian human rights lawyer and an internationally recognized writer

Hillel Schenker, Israeli journalist and co-editor of the Palestine-Israel Journal

Lior Sternfeld, Professor of history and Jewish Studies and Social Historian of the modern Middle East

Moderator:
Solmaz Khorsand, independent journalist, podcaster, and award-winning author focusing on socio-political issues