Can Israelis and Palestinians Talk Through Poetry? (with audio descriptions)

Can Israelis and Palestinians Talk Through Poetry?

This conversation, part of the Samantha Woll Dialogues, brings together two writers, Almog Behar and Ayat Abou Shmeiss, both of whom use the language of poetry to explore their own identities: Jerusalem-born Behar looks to his family roots in Iraq and Turkey to advocate for the restoration of Arabic to its place in Jewish culture, and Jaffa-born Abou Shmeiss expresses her dual identity as a Muslim-Palestinian and as an Israeli citizen in her award-winning poetry and human rights advocacy. The panel will be moderated by Raoul Wallenberg Institute Fellow Stephanie Kraver, a scholar of modern Arabic and Hebrew literature who specializes in transcultural exchange, expressions of mourning, trauma theory, and translation.

October 6, 2026
Rackham Amphitheater

A version of this video without audio descriptions is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF-98iEuHfI