Delegation of prominent female media figures from within Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox community visit Belfast and London, 13th-16th March

Between the 13^th and 16^th of March, Forward Thinking, in conjunction with the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, facilitated the visit to Belfast and London of a group of prominent female media figures from within Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox community. Working as senior journalists, broadcasters, marketing and PR directors, the participants have significant influence within their communities.As part of the Irish Peace Process Programme, the group were exposed to a variety of perspectives on the conflict in Northern Ireland from the grassroots to the political level. Exploring the conflict from a personal, academic, and political perspective provoked discussion about participants’ own context, providing the space and time for delegates to draw insights into the successes and failures of the Irish Peace process, and the prospects for movement within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Taking place at a time of heightened tension due to the imminent Northern Irish elections, and the explosion of a car bomb in by dissident republicans the previous week, the group expressed their surprise at the extent of continued divisions but took hope in the recognition that the peace process does not start, nor end, with political negotiations and agreements, but at the community level.