Winter Park, Florida: Outdoor Movie About the Israli-Palestinian Conflict on an Inflatable Screen at Rollins College

The night before the 2008 US presidential election, Rollins College's Mills Lawn hosted a Middle Eastern Multicultural Night co-sponsored by Hillel and the Society for a Just Peace in Palestine. Speakers Rabbi Jonathan Siger and Brother Yassine Benzinane addressed the history and future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, followed by an outdoor screening of Encounter Point on an inflatable screen -- a documentary following bereaved Israelis and Palestinians who had chosen dialogue and peace work over retaliation.

About forty attendees gathered on the lawn with Middle Eastern food. The film's subjects included two men -- one Israeli, one Palestinian -- who each lost a daughter and subsequently joined a shared bereaved families' group, and Ali, a Palestinian who turned imprisonment and personal loss into a commitment to dialogue. “Breaking bread together helps in all cases,” said attendee Susie Robertshaw.