Playing the hard man

Easter/Pesach is always a good time to be at the Jewish Chronicle with all the combined holidays. This year it is all the more congenial now the Pope has been so kind as to absolve the Jews of blame for the death of Christ. A time for reflection, perhaps, and a reassessment of history. I am still mulling over the peace process simulation I took part in earlier this month, playing the role of Jibril Rajoub, the PLO enforcer. You can read my account the event here.

My “Palestinian” delegation was led by Saeb Erekat as played by Jonathan Freedland, who also wrote about his experience.

We took away different things from the simulation, but we both agreed that the very structure of the negotiations led personal ego and the desire to “win” to dominate proceedings. It made me wonder whether the conventions of international negotiation need to be rethought if any progress is ever to be made.