PEACE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Israel + Palestine
Bringing together Israeli and Palestinian leaders to recognize each other’s humanity and rebuild trust — through group process, emotional truth-telling, and shared commitment
In early 2023, a group of established and emerging leaders from Israel and the West Bank committed to a three-year journey of emotional processing, storytelling, and facilitated dialogue. They come from different communities, sectors, and lived experiences—but all are seeking to lead with more presence, courage, and relational depth. This began before October 7th. And it hasn’t stopped.
Rabbis, secularists, Orthodox Jews, Zionists, settlers; Muslim, Christian, and Druze Palestinians, living both in Israel and Palestine; and former soldiers, teachers, mothers daughters, parents and grandparents
Israeli Jews + Palestinians Together
Even as violence and fear ripple through the region, these leaders continue to show up. Within the container of the group, they are rebuilding what conflict has torn apart: trust, empathy, and the possibility of co-existence.
We believe that disconnection lies at the heart of long-standing trauma. When people’s emotions and experiences are denied, cycles of violence continue. This work interrupts those patterns by supporting leaders willing to engage with pain—including the pain of the other.
“Our group has created a space to share and to listen that is more humane and respectful of everyone than anywhere else I know.”
Rooted in body-based emotional process work, Radical Aliveness invites participants to bring their full selves—grief, rage, fear, and longing—into a shared space. The method blends deep emotional expression, personal and systemic awareness, and personal accountability.
A central part of the work involves recognizing that we all see the world through filters—shaped by trauma, culture, history, and identity. Participants are supported to stay with the discomfort of discovering that their view is not objective. They explore how their worldview was formed, what it protects, and what it distorts. This awareness makes room for genuine curiosity and connection. As the filters become visible, so does the humanity on the other side.
This is what healing looks like: intense emotional honesty, shared space for grief, and the slow emergence of understanding where there was once only fear. Participants return to their communities more grounded, more open, and more able to stay in relationship — even when tensions rise. They facilitate difficult conversations, build bridges across divides, and create new conditions for collective healing.
Transformation through Relationship
In a region shaped by separation, they are choosing connection. In the midst of rupture, they are staying in dialogue. This is how conflict begins to shift—not through ideology, but through relationship. Not all at once, but one human encounter at a time.
Ann Bradney, the founder of Radical Aliveness, has worked with Israelis and Palestinians since 2006. She started the Peace Leadership program in 2023. The program is co-led with Sylvia Margiah, a Palestinian leader, and Dror Zohar, an Israeli Jewish leader.