Boing Boing pal Isabel Lara writes to give us a heads up about a new NPR series, “Changing Minds.” NPR launched the project this week and it looks at stories of people who’ve changed their positions in what has become a cultural moment of partisan polarization and extremism. The stories so far focus on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
“It began with a story about how an Israeli soldier’s encounter with a Palestinian girl changed his outlook,” Isabel explains. That piece is “The Moment When An Israeli Soldier Saw Himself Through A Palestinian Child’s Eyes.”
More from Isabel:
The ‘Changing Minds’ series takes a look at what makes us change our minds about fundamental views in a place where it seems like little ever changes – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Stories will run through this afternoon on both Morning Edition and All Things Considered, exploring the viewpoints of two Israelis and two Palestinians and digging into the social science behind their shifts in perspective.
Another wonderful story in the series: ‘A Palestinian Takes A Different Road In His Fight.’
A Palestinian man talks of the moment he started to turn away from violence – when he was serving time in an Israeli prison for attacking soldiers and saw a film about the Holocaust.
PHOTO: “A Palestinian boy looks out of his family house as he watches Hamas militants during a rally marking the twelfth anniversary of the death of late Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who was killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza City, March 23, 2016. [REUTERS/Suhaib Salem]