Leadership Conversations about Israel and Palestine

It’s a heavy time in the world and the effects are being felt around the world as we grapple with the impact of escalated violence against Palestinians in Gaza, following the Hamas attack in Israel. It’s a traumatic time for Jews, Muslims, people with family and connections in the region and those of us watching on social media and news channels from afar.

There’s a sense of overwhelm hitting us all collectively; as we navigate feelings of grief, loss, anger, rage, sadness, hopelessness, and shock. Some are feeling re-traumatised by the impact of violent oppression and dehumanisation happening to yet another people. Others are genuinely fearful for their safety as the rise in Antisemitism and Islamophobia is a real threat in and around the UK. Many are struggling to cope with the media stream of images and stories of people’s lives being uprooted and destroyed.

Alongside this, there is a pressure to ‘take sides’ and show one’s stance. Sharing it feels risky, especially when the political context itself feels one-sided, and there are stories of companies reprimanding people’s personal stances in work spheres. There are those who don’t know what to say or in general, overwhelmed by other life priorities. Others feel that it’s on them to be more vocal, to share a counter story, and to take the actions they can from where they are.

For some, there is a risk that’s felt on a more interpersonal level though. Fear of saying the wrong thing and impacting on relationships, with the awareness that many are in a period of intense learning about a history that goes way beyond the last few weeks. There’s uncertainty about how people in our workplaces are affected and a hesitancy to find out about people’s stories and identities right now at this moment.

There is also a more complex reality of the history of the land occupation itself, the motives underpinning this, the displacement of Palestinian people, the Holocaust history of the oppression of Jewish people that expands beyond this, the role of the West - its colonial agenda, whether past or present and its continued support in arms and political support.

From an anti-racist perspective, there are many things to question, to advocate for and multiple truths to consider. What does an organisation that has set on a journey of anti-racism say and do? What does it mean to genuinely create belonging for all?

From a wellbeing perspective, there’s new questions for workplaces to ask themselves about what supportive wellbeing in times of global crisis looks like? What’s in the realm of the employer to support, what’s important to maintaining harmony in the workplace, what can be done to specifically help those feeling unsafe or feeling strongly impacted?

We recently ran some Leader Conversations to explore what was on leaders' minds about how to best approach this at a time when there is high stress and high need. Here are some of the themes, and solutions emerging from those various conversations.

The challenge of silence

People are feeling under-skilled and under-resourced to have conversations or share their feelings. The impact of this is that staff members who are Jewish, Muslim or with connections to the region are feeling isolated and alone in the workplace and have anxiety and fear about how their colleagues are viewing them. Leaders were feeling uncertain about how best to support them, and team members were struggling with the lack of concern from their workplaces for their wellbeing.

Everyone thinking about it, feeling unable to talk about it

People are feeling overwhelmed by it. Irrespective of one’s beliefs, faith, perspectives or values, overconsumption of news and social media is impacting mental health and well-being. Complex emotions are being experienced and people are alone with those feelings. This is something further exacerbated by remote working.

Staff expecting an organisational stance

Some organisations, especially charities whose purpose is connected to the issues, shared how staff expect the organisation to have an external point of view and sometimes to take sides, in recognition of supporting the issues the charity is focused on. More moderately, there is a desire for leaders to say something about its position, especially as the escalation of violence in Gaza and the rise of citizen activism is growing. Some leaders expressed a desire to say something but were finding it challenging to do so in a way that didn’t upset people unintentionally.

Limited understanding of the impact on Jewish or Muslim colleagues

Several leaders shared instances of team members coming forward to share their Jewish faith for the first time or feeling unable to share this with colleagues. This was often shared with a context of fear for physical safety given the rise of anti-Semitism and a deep sense of not belonging in the UK in the context of growing support for Palestinian people. Not everyone understands why or how this is impacting on Muslim colleagues nor what support to offer as a result, and the lack of concern for this group is noticeable. Team members shared the difficulty of having no, or very few, colleagues reach out and checking in with them which is making them feel isolated and questioning their place here.

Personal and professional agendas

People are finding it hard to separate personal and political, both as team members and as leaders, despite a desire to be supportive of everyone working with and for us. What is OK to talk about in the workplace? Should we have a view on protesting? How do we help people manage what they bring into the professional space given the reality of multiple truths, personal politics, trauma and pain and varying levels of knowledge and understanding?

Fear of holding a group discussion

Keen to learn from the lessons of George Floyd and the BLM Protests of 2020, there’s rightly consideration of how to talk and how to hold a space on sensitive topics that feels supportive of different needs and perspectives. Leaders concerned about how to facilitate spaces to talk when there were heightened emotions and strong views potentially impacting the safety of others.

Wanting to make a stand and doing so with neutrality

Leaders overall wanted to speak and show leadership, but many of the above themes made this difficult to do so. There was concern about putting statements out and these being criticised. They were finding it hard to present a balanced view that respected the needs of different people in the workforce.

Notice and name

Acknowledging this isn’t business as usual was also one of the approaches taken by some organisations. Naming the feelings that people might be experiencing as a leader gives legitimacy. One organisation sent out an email to this effect so that their teams knew that they cared and were aware of what people were navigating and signposting them to some support resources, either offered as part of mental health support or to other organisations that might be useful.

Widening the sphere of concern

If we talk about belonging, then that includes everyone. Bridging is a key skill to enable belonging, which means trying to find common ground and a space in which everyone can be seen.

Mental health and wellbeing stand out as a way in for belonging that organisations can step into. This collective experience is impacting on people in different ways but what is shared is the overwhelm, the emotions, the sense of being alone in the workplace.

For companies on an EDI or anti-racism journey, anti-oppression is another unifying lens for belonging. Being against persecution of people, whoever they are, for their identity is what we’ve committed to. It puts a fresh lens on our everyday interactions, how important respect, care, and compassion and how important it is that we focus on bringing to each other right now. Let’s not let the response to the crisis become the crisis.

Non-verbal spaces

The value of being together and without words was being explored by some organisations whose work was directly impacted by these events and teams were looking for space to process and connect. Having the opportunity to grieve or to process emotions with others without needing a narrative to accompany us can really help to engender a sense of belonging. Exploring options such as somatic practices, individual journaling or using a collective creative exercise can be nourishing.

Safe space conversations

Holding space for people who want to have conversations when there are solid ground rules in place for how these will take place is possible. Contracting to set these rules at the start helps create safety and gives guardrails to how they’ll take place. These are not spaces for people to try and convince and change people’s minds, but more to offer a collective container for personal reflections on the impact it’s having on them. The power of togetherness, when people are feeling alone, can be valuable in challenging the negative impact of assumptions and narratives that workers are potentially creating about each other.

Courage to test and learn

There is always a risk of getting things wrong. We’ve seen in recent weeks how language can harm, and tone is everything. But saying nothing also communicates. Those who were putting out messages were learning from them how to do it better next time. Don’t make it so neutral it’s bland, speak from a place of care for all employees, and be authentic by connecting your message to your own purpose and values.

These conversations will be ongoing. The work of anti-racism and wider EDI doesn’t exist in a vacuum and as the reality of the world evolves and changes shape, so does this work. These events have highlighted that the work of belonging needs us to develop new skills and considerations to create workplaces able to bridge divides and be spaces that can support all their people and avoid the traps laid by ‘us’ and ‘them’ thinking. Anti-oppression is what we’ve signed up for in going on EDI journeys. Let’s start that work by focusing on how we’re showing up for each other, right now when we need each other most.