Film Screening and panel discussion by Swisspeace

Public and private archives, which house official records, testimonies, and other essential materials, serve as crucial repositories of information in post-conflict societies. However, control and access to archives often dictate whether these records serve as tools for fact-based discourse or reinforce dominant, state-sanctioned narratives.

This event will explore how access to archival materials has challenged official histories in different conflict or post-conflict contexts, focusing on the experience of Israel and that of Switzerland with the Bergier Commission (1996-2002).

Following the screening of the film "Agenda Item: Erasure", a panel of Israeli and Swiss academics and researchers will share their insights on how post-conflict societies can use archival material to restore lost or suppressed histories, engage in fact-based dialogue about historical events, and foster a more nuanced understanding of their past.

SPEAKERS

• Lior Yavne Founder & Executive Director, Akevot Institute for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Research
• Prof. em. Dr. Georg Kreis Founding Director & Lecturer in History, Institute for European Global Studies, University of Basel
• Dr. Julie Bernath Senior Researcher, Dealing with the Past, swisspeace

MODERATOR

• Rita El Khoury Program Officer, Dealing with the Past, swisspeace

FILM
"Agenda Item: Erasure": 2024 / 35min. (Hebrew with English subtitles)
Director: Einat Weizman
Production: Akevot Institute

Two months into the war in Gaza, seven political activists got together inside a closed, empty theater in Tel Aviv. Each of them fights the injustices of the state in their own way. They were asked to read from the transcripts of government meetings dating back to 1948, which had been classified until recently and opened for access after a long struggle by Akevot Institute. Viewers watch the activists as they take their first look at documentation that was inaccessible for decades, and together with them, learn about dark aspects of Israeli history. 

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