These two experiences connect to joint research studies that explore the effects of the conflict on our lives. The first experience connects to the relationship between the researchers on either side of the border while the second one relates to the relationship between the researchers and the participants, on their side of the border/conflict. There is quite a bit of published qualitative research literature on the second issue (for example, Fine, Weis, Wessen & Wong, 2003; Gergen & Gergen, 2003); however there is almost none about the researcher-researcher relationship (Markowitz, 2002). . . .

Researchers agree that the main goal of research is to further knowledge (Delanty & Strydom, 2003). However, this is not its only aim. Theoreticians and researchers that adhere to critical and feminist perspectives (for example, Haraway, 2003) or who undertake participatory action research (such as Kemmis & McTaggart, 2003), aver that an additional objective of social science research is to bring about change in . . .

There is no doubt that we Israelis and Palestinians have lived and continue to live through difficult days/weeks/months/years/decades. The peace that we long for so badly continues to elude us. We scholar-practitioners, who research the conflict, have not succeeded in creating Israeli-Palestinian partnerships that have indeed changed our violent reality. As a result, there is now an understanding that our task is not to change our present-day reality, but rather to focus on helping create a good foundation for more people-to-people processes . . .