Gabrielle Rifkind
Encyclopedia
Gabrielle Rifkind is a practising psychotherapist and group analyst, who works in conflict resolution in the Middle East
. Much of her special contribution is around the role of human motivation and behaviour in resolving conflict.
She directs the Middle East Human Security Programme for the Oxford Research Group, an NGO which works to promote a more sustainable approach to security and is one of the leading UK advocates of non-military resolution of global conflict. It combines in-depth political and technical expertise with many years' experience in promoting serious analysis and dialogue.
A political entrepreneur
, Rifkind has, over the last decade, created a number of quiet behind-the-scenes round-table discussions, often between groups who are not currently in dialogue in the Middle East. Her special areas of interest are the Palestine-Israel conflict
and the role and influence of Iran
as a regional player. She concentrates on the concept of inclusive dialogue and the need to engage groups who have historically sat outside the political process within the frame of conflict resolution.
A graduate of the University of Manchester
and postgraduate the University of Edinburgh
, Rifkind lives in London and makes regular contributions to the media. For example, for the Guardian and BBC Radio 4. She has appeared on various news and political analysis programmes and has given many public lectures, conversations and engaged in debates at venues ranging from the Oxford Union ( “Time to talk to Hamas?”) and the House of Commons to Chatham House
and Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (Watch Rifkind debate on Iran).
She is author, with Scilla Elworthy
, of Making Terrorism History (Random House, 2005).
- ‘Solving the West Bank Settler Problem’, Guardian, September 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/28/solving-west-bank-settler-problem
Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma http://tonycharlesworthassociates.com/offline/dart.html
Institute for Integrative and Transformative Peacebuilding http://www.iicp.at/about/board.html
United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) http://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/index.html
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. Much of her special contribution is around the role of human motivation and behaviour in resolving conflict.
She directs the Middle East Human Security Programme for the Oxford Research Group, an NGO which works to promote a more sustainable approach to security and is one of the leading UK advocates of non-military resolution of global conflict. It combines in-depth political and technical expertise with many years' experience in promoting serious analysis and dialogue.
A political entrepreneur
Political entrepreneur
The term Political entrepreneur may refer to any of the following:* someone who founds a new political project, group, or political party...
, Rifkind has, over the last decade, created a number of quiet behind-the-scenes round-table discussions, often between groups who are not currently in dialogue in the Middle East. Her special areas of interest are the Palestine-Israel conflict
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
and the role and influence of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
as a regional player. She concentrates on the concept of inclusive dialogue and the need to engage groups who have historically sat outside the political process within the frame of conflict resolution.
A graduate of the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
and postgraduate the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, Rifkind lives in London and makes regular contributions to the media. For example, for the Guardian and BBC Radio 4. She has appeared on various news and political analysis programmes and has given many public lectures, conversations and engaged in debates at venues ranging from the Oxford Union ( “Time to talk to Hamas?”) and the House of Commons to Chatham House
Chatham House
Chatham House, formally known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in London whose mission is to analyse and promote the understanding of major international issues and current affairs. It is regarded as one of the world's leading...
and Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (Watch Rifkind debate on Iran).
She is author, with Scilla Elworthy
Scilla Elworthy
Scilla Elworthy is the founder of the Oxford Research Group, a non-governmental organisation which seeks to develop effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers worldwide and their critics...
, of Making Terrorism History (Random House, 2005).
Publications
- Language of war, language of peace and its application to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, Psychotherapy and Politics International, June 2004, Volume 2, Issue 2, pp115–122 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ppi.v2:2/issuetoc
- Co-author, Making Terrorism History, Random House, London, 2005 http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/minisites/terrorism.
- ‘Separating aspirations from realities’, The Jerusalem Post, 1 May 2006 http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961264270&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter
- ‘No matter what Israel and Hamas do to each other, the solution won't be rational’, The Independent, July 16, 2006 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/gabrielle-rifkind-no-matter-what-israel-and-hamas-do-to-each-other-the-solution-wont-be-rational-408121.html
- ‘What Lies Beneath the Rhetoric’, Ha’aretz, 12 December 2006 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=802749
- ‘Want to ease tensions with Iran? Just try talking’, The Independent, February 13, 2007 http://www.google.co.uk/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&q=Gabrielle+Rifkind+Iran&meta=&btnG=Google+Search
- ‘From Crisis to Opportunity’, The Jerusalem Post, February 2007 http://www.jpost.com/home/article.aspx?id=52157
- ‘A Standing Conference Table: A Process for Sustainable Peace in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict’, Oxford Research Group, July 2007 http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/publications/briefing_papers/standingconferencetable.php
- ‘This dialogue of the deaf is making war more likely’, The Independent, October 28, 2007 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/gabrielle-rifkind-this-dialogue-of-the-deaf-is-making-war-more-likely-398104.html
- 'Western diplomacy and psychology', Therapy Today, November 2007 http://www.therapytoday.net/article/show/698/
- 'The Arab Peace Initiative: Why Now?, Oxford Research Group, November 2008. A report following the Oxford Research Group roundtable on ‘The Arab Peace Initiative as a possible exit from the current impasse – the role of the international community’ at Charney Manor in Oxfordshire on October 15–17, 2008. http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/publications/briefing_papers/api.php
- ‘The man to sell peace to the Middle East’, The Independent, January 24, 2009 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/gabrielle-rifkind-the-man-to-sell-peace-to-the-middle-east-1515167.html
- 'A route to resolution for Syria and Israel', The Guardian, February 26, 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/26/syria-israel-golan-heights-middle-east
- ‘Pariahs to Pioneers' Oxford Research Group, May 2010 http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/publications/reports/pariahs_pioneers_could_settler_movement_be_part_solution_and_not_part_problem__0
- ‘Solving the West Bank Settler Problem’, Guardian, September 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/28/solving-west-bank-settler-problem
External links
Oxford Research Group http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma http://tonycharlesworthassociates.com/offline/dart.html
Institute for Integrative and Transformative Peacebuilding http://www.iicp.at/about/board.html
United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) http://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/index.html