Exploring paths to Justice & Peace in Middle East

This discussion seeks to explore the current situation on the ground, as well as potential avenues toward justice and peace, through the intersecting perspectives of Tunisian, French, Palestinian, and Lebanese voices — individuals with deep personal and cultural ties to the region.

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Seventy-five years after the beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and two years after the events of October 7th that sparked a devastating war in Gaza and escalated tensions across the region — including in South Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran — what possible paths remain for the future of the Middle East? 

This discussion seeks to explore the current situation on the ground, as well as potential avenues toward justice and peace, through the intersecting perspectives of Tunisian, French, Palestinian, and Lebanese voices — individuals with deep personal and cultural ties to the region.

The idea is to understand the needs and expectations, the capabilities and limitations, and the realistic objectives in order to better explore pathways toward peace and justice, by engaging with people closer to the ground and to the suffering — people whose reality politicians, the media, and even we ourselves sometimes imagine without fully measuring or acknowledging its gravity.

Given the imbalance of power, the occupier has naturally chosen force without listening to anyone, demands unconditional support from its allies, and disregards international law.

The time has come to give diplomacy, international law, and morality a chance, so that a pathway toward justice and peace may begin to emerge, and so that the suffering of Palestinians may eventually be eased, making way for sustainable reconstruction and development.

Join us on Friday, 5 September

at 3:30 pm UTC

(4:30 p.m. Tunis time)

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Prior to an inclusive dialogue, we have the honor of hearing three valuable testimonies and visions about 3 major questions:

1.    Can religion be a path to peace rather than a source of division?
2.    How can trust and dialogue be rebuilt between Palestinians and Israelis?
3.    What can we do, as citizens and civil society, to support a just and lasting peace?

 

Speakers

Dr. Gérard Haddad
Dr. Gérard Haddad

Gérard Haddad is a French writer, essayist, and psychiatrist, as well as an agricultural engineer and doctor of philosophy, born in 1940 in Tunis, Tunisia. He grew up immersed in the Judeo-Arab culture and the complexities of North African identity, which profoundly influenced his work.

Haddad is known for his contributions to the field of psychiatry, as well as for his reflections on culture and religion. His thought addresses themes such as identity, exile, and the relationships between Western and Arab cultures. As a writer, Haddad has often explored the human condition through narratives that blend autobiography and philosophical reflection.

Gérard Haddad is also recognized for his participation in public debates on secularism, identity, and intercultural dialogue. His work continues to be studied and discussed within the fields of the humanities and social sciences.

Ms Balqees Aldeek
Ms Balqees Aldeek

Balqees Aldeek is a Palestinian-Tunisian youth advocate. Raised between North Africa and the heart of the Middle East, she has witnessed first-hand the layered complexities that shape daily life in conflict-affected regions. Growing up in a household that values education as both a personal duty and a societal responsibility, Balqees was shaped by the resilience of her Tunisian mother and the political insight of her Palestinian father.

Her multicultural upbringing fostered a deep commitment to intercultural dialogue, peacebuilding, and the advancement of Palestinian representation on the global stage. With a focus on youth and women’s empowerment, she has worked with several initiatives that aim to bridge divides between Palestinians and post colonial regions. Balqees’s passion lies in developing strategic, data-informed solutions to ensure that international support is both authentic and impactful in the long run.

She views diplomacy as a powerful tool not only for advocacy, but for designing sustainable youth led change and aspires to contribute to a more just and equitable global narrative for Palestine.

Mr Assaad Chaftari
Mr Assaad Chaftari

Assad Chaftari is the Vice President of Initiatives of Change International and a leading voice for reconciliation and peacebuilding in Lebanon and beyond.

During the Lebanese Civil War, he served as head of intelligence for the Lebanese Christian militia, the Lebanese Forces, and was a close associate of Elie Hobeika. In 2000, he publicly acknowledged his responsibility for wartime actions by publishing a letter of apology to the Lebanese people — a courageous step that marked the beginning of his lifelong commitment to personal transformation and peace.

Born in 1955, Chaftari grew up in a French-speaking family in Beirut’s Christian neighborhood of Gemmayzé. He interrupted his engineering studies in 1974 to join the Phalange Party (Kataeb), later helping to establish its intelligence service. Before the age of 30, he had risen to deputy head of intelligence, working directly with Hobeika, whose group was implicated in the Sabra and Shatila massacre of 1982.

In 1988, a chance encounter with the movement Initiatives of Change (former Moral Rearmament) profoundly changed the course of his life. Invited to reflect on his past, he described what he saw as "a path covered in blood." From that turning point, he dedicated himself to promoting dialogue, reconciliation, and the healing of deep divisions.

Today, Chaftari is an active member of several peace movements and NGOs, including the coalition Wahdatouna Khalasouna. In 2014, he co-founded Fighters for Peace, a pioneering initiative that brings together former fighters from all sides who have chosen the path of change, reconciliation, and non-violence.

 

This meeting will allow us to better understand what people in the Middle East are experiencing, in order to better appreciate the outlines of possible pathways toward justice and peace — whether or not we are able to support them.

Join us on September 5th, 2025, at 3:30 p.m. UTC to inform ourselves, be inspired, and encourage those working for justice and peace.

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