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“Senseless”. “Absurd”. “Incredible”. These are some of the adjectives that are commonly used when discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has inflamed the Middle East for more than half a century.

Every time a war comes to an end in this part of the world, the sensation is that it is only in order to prepare for the next outbreak.

It has almost always been that way.

But, every time, there is also a legitimate hope that determination to establish a dialogue can open the way to a reconciliation that will bring an end to fanaticism, and will allow for peaceful cohabitation based on reciprocal recognition.

Khaled Fouad Allam
teaches Sociology of the Muslim World and History and Institutions of Islamic Countries at the University of Trieste, and Islamic Studies at the University of Urbino. Among his many publications are: L’Islam globale (Global Islam) (2002), Lettera a un kamikaze (Letter to a suicide bomber) (2004), Arabia (2005) and La solitudine dell’Occidente (The solitude of the West) (2006). He is a columnist of “la Repubblica”. In 2006 he was elected deputy of the Italian Parliament.

Manuela Dviri Vitali Norsa
journalist, moved to Israel after her marriage to an Israeli and dedicated herself to teaching. She writes for a number of Israeli newspapers, and for “Il Corriere della Sera”. Her publications include the short story collection Chocolate Egg, and La guerra negli occhi. Diario da Tel Aviv. She wrote the text for Terra di latte e miele (Land of Milk and Honey), staged by Silvano Piccardi and interpreted by Ottavia Piccolo. Manuela Dviri Vitali Norsa’s reporting from Israel, and her commitment to a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has earned her numerous honours, such as the Granarolo Prize (2002), the Fumagalli Prize (2003) and the Premio Donne per la solidarietà (Women’s Solidarity Prize) (2004).

Bruno Segre
historian, has worked in the Movimento Comunità of Adriano Olivetti. He has been a council member of the Centro di Documentazione Ebraica Contemporanea in Milan. Since 1991 he has been president of the Associazione Amici di Nevè Shalom/Wahat al Salam (Italian Friends of Nevè Shalom/Wahat al Salam), a village where Jews and Palestinian Arabs of Israeli citizenship live together peacefully. Bruno Segre’s many publications include Gli ebrei in Italia (The Jews in Italy) (1993 and 2000) and La Shoah. Il genocidio degli ebrei d’Europa (The Shoah. The Genocide of the Jews in Europe) (1998 and 2003). He is director of Keshet magazine, which deals with questions of Jewish life and culture.

Ugo Tramballi
journalist, has since 1983 reported for “Il Giornale” and “Il Sole-24 Ore” on the peace process in the Middle East, developments in post-soviet Russia, the Balkan crisis, the growth of China, the Gulf War, and the foreign policy of the United States. In 2005 he was awarded the Max David prize for journalism. He has published L’ulivo e le pietre (The olive tree and the stones)