THE SETTLEMENTS: (April 26, 2009) The conference began with a screening of Adam Hootnick's 2007 documentary "Unsettled". Unsettling it was, as the large crowd witnessed the unbearable emotional turmoil accompanying dismantling of the Gaza settllements in '05. Seen from the vantage points of settlers of all stripes (from Haredi to ultra-secularist, and soldiers of different backgrounds) recorded in real time the painful disengagement process.
After the film, a speech written by Stephen P. Cohen for the event, was read. Cohen traced the back-drop to the settlements, noting that clashes among high-level government officials in the wake of the June '67 war led to a change as to the intentions for the use of territorial gains. A later influx of religious Zionists further altered the settlement movement, its current incarnation being different from not only what it had been, but what most Israelis and progressive Jews want it to be.
A discussion between Doni Remba, Executive Director of the Jewish Alliance for Change, and Stewart Ain, long-time columnist for the Jewish Week and other media outlets, posed different perspectives on and possibilities for resolution of the settlements issue. Questions were submitted by the audience and each of the discussants responded. Plans for a follow-up session addressing new developments in this area and with Stephen P. Cohen present are being made for next year.
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