Israeli arab‐jewish sandtray group work: creating a world together

Abstract

Jewish and Arab Israeli group facilitator trainees participated in an experiential sandtray workshop. Recapitulating the basic Israeli conflict over contested lands, Arab‐Jewish dyads were given a contained piece of land (a sand tray) in which to create their ‘shared’ world using miniatures. The container was just large enough to hold a standard ream of paper, and was half‐filled with sand. As the method involves tactile play and giving the unconscious a voice, we could observe the interactional process and products. Would the unconscious provide new solutions where dialogue had become stuck in anger and alienation? The observed outcome of the group work was three distinct styles of coping with the difficult and sometimes painful task of sharing: conflict, domination and co‐existence. This paper examines how participants negotiated sharing a limited piece of ‘land’ with the hope that this concrete task can provide new ways of understanding the unspoken and unconscious aspects of the conflict as well as suggesting new possibilities and a way toward constructive and respectful solutions.