This study assumes that the collective identities of both Jews and Palestinians in Israel have long been constructed around the Jewish-Palestinian conflict, a major focus of social and historical reality in the Middle East region. Monolithic in their early stages, these constructions of identity underwent a process of deconstruction and reconstruction, primarily due to changes in the political reality (the peace process), globalization, and the surfacing of conflicts that were hidden within the monolithic construction. The deconstruction process, though painful and problematic, creates new opportunities for a dialogue that engages elements of identity, which no longer 'fit' the contenders. Such a dialogue took place in 'laboratory' form at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev from October 1996 and June 1997 between two leading participants in an ongoing workshop for Jewish and Palestinian Israeli students. Most conflict group encounters are measured by outcomes, not by process. We identified problems when the method common for these groups was used at Jewish-Palestinian encounters and this led us to try another way. This study employs a qualitative methodology to analyse the process of groups in conflict. It looks into how the process of questioning one's own self and the other's perception takes place in this context. In describing the dialogue that evolved between a Jew, Avner and a Palestinian, Nasser (both pseudonyms), the tension between the individual and collective identity levels, between the internal group process and the asymmetric social and political reality, is revealed. 9 3 1 Human Relations [0018-7267(200208)55:8] Volume 55(8): 931-962: 026178

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In this essay, Shoshana Steinberg and Dan Bar-On present the work of a team of Israeli and Palestinian teachers who developed a history textbook that includes both groups' narratives of the same events side by side. These teachers then tested the effects of its use in both Israeli and Palestinian classrooms; for the first time, students on each side of the conflict were exposed to the other side's understanding of key historical events. The authors present the challenges that the team faced in developing the textbook and that teachers encountered in the classroom as well as the understanding and collaboration this project fostered. They argue that the process of creating the dual-narratives text, as well as the text itself, allows teachers to play a productive role in violent political conflicts.