Third-Party Peacemakers in Judaism

Third-Party Peacemakers in Judaism presents thirty-six case studies featuring third-party peacemakers found within Jewish rabbinic literature. Each case study is explored through three layers of analysis: text, theory, and practice. The textual analysis consists of close literary and historical readings of legends and historical accounts as found within classical, medieval, and early-modern rabbinic literature, many of which are critically analyzed here for the first time. The theoretical analysis consists of analyzing the models of third-party peacemaking embedded within the various cases studies by comparing them with other cultural and religious models of third-party peacemaking and conflict resolution, in particular the Arab-Islamic sulha and contemporary Interactive Problem-Solving Workshops. The final layer of analysis, based upon the author’s personal experiences in years of doing conflict resolution education, trainings, and actual third-party religious peacemaking in the context of the Middle East, relates to the potential practical implications of these case studies to serve as indigenous models and sources of inspiration for third-party mediation and peacemaking in both interpersonal and intergroup conflicts today.