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An Israeli and a Palestinian debate

Debate between the two at the Festival of Humanism over the weekend

June 2026

So popular was this debate that many couldn’t get in so it was repeated the following day in a bigger hall. The two speakers were Yaniv Aknin who is a British-Israeli software engineer currently working in London. He was born and raised in Israel but left in 2013. Jasr Kawkby is a British-Palestinian paediatrician currently working in East London. He was raised as a Muslim in Palestine.

It would be usual in a write-up of this kind to discuss what A said then to discuss B, making clear thereby who said what. We will not do this in this instance and just discuss what was said by both. These are some of the points made:

It was pure chance where you were born and whether you were Moslem, Christian or Jew.

Language was important. To call what happened a ‘war of independence’ was quite wrong. It was a colonial war. To live in a land where the ‘natives’ were expelled and prevented from returning was morally wrong.

Armed resistance has made life more difficult for those it seeks to support. It has alienated foreign support.

Suffering has been inflicted on those with no responsibility for the plight of Jews [in history].

Israel must stop its barbaric actions [for example] denying food aid in Gaza and must respect the rights of Palestinian prisoners in Jewish gaols.

[In answer to a question] the conflict was about land: religion was very much a secondary factor. It was however a complicating factor.

Zionism was a wrong ideology.

Most destruction of human life was by Israeli forces [meaning the IDF from other comments he made].

Pressure should be applied to Israel until it complies with human rights. We must recognise the oppression of Palestinians.

The lack of unconditional support from the West seen as a betrayal or anti-Semitism.

Religion was a catalyst for violence: how can we spread non-religious ideas? [This was a Humanist conference].

We should not be selling arms to Israel.

You might believe some of the answers are obviously from one ‘side’ or the other. You may well be wrong. There were in fact some surprises. This is to illustrate that there are those from the region – whether Jew or Moslem – who see both sides and recognise some of the wrongs that are committed. Because so much air time is given to extremists, we can be led to believe that they are representative of the population as a whole. It demonstrates that perhaps there is some chance in the future for some kind of reconciliation. The interference by outside forces – discussed in our last post in relation to the Gulf – is a factor in the perpetuation of violence.

Images: Yaniv (top); Jasr (lower)

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