One of the classic World Cafe stories is about the largest World Cafe ever hosted. Danny Gal and a team of people who had been working on easing Israeli-Palestinian tensions for many years hosted a transformational conversation during the Arab Spring.

To help us celebrate the World Cafe’s 30th Anniversary, Danny recently sent us the remarkable story of this World Cafe, which makes up a whole chapter in his latest book, The Belonging Paradox: How to Solve the Global Empathy Crisis.

Here’s an excerpt:

“What became known as the “Arab Spring” began in Tunisia on 17 December 2010, when the late Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor, set himself on fire in protest against the authorities’ arbitrariness and the regime’s corruption. Bouazizi’s act sparked a wave of massive protests in Tunisia and subsequently ignited the Middle East in Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Yemen, Syria and more, in a period known as the ‘Arab Spring.’ This movement inspired mass social protests in other countries in Europe, including Spain, Greece, England, and later in the United States (Occupy Wall Street). The common outcry of all the protesters was the desire for social justice.

In the summer of 2011, the protest spread to Israel when Daphni Leef, an anonymous woman up until that time, moved into a tent on Rothschild Boulevard after her landlord decided to unilaterally raise her rent. Daphni invited a few friends, who invited more friends, and within a few days, the protest grew exponentially, sweeping almost the entire country into the largest social struggle in Israel’s history.

During this time, I had the opportunity to host Daphni Leef and her friends at The-Hub Tel Aviv, the social entrepreneurship incubator and co-working space I had co-founded on the roof of a Tel Aviv office building, currently serving as a home for the protest leaders. We decided ti hold a public discussion on the question: What is the social justice we are demanding, and how can we achieve it?

Whenever we wanted to hold any community discussion, we would invite our entire community of entrepreneurs to a meeting using the World Café technique. In this method, participants are invited to exchange ideas around a specific topic and co-create a desired future. They sit around round tables and discuss a question stimulated by the topic. At the end of each discussion, they move to a new table, meet new people and discuss a new question tied to the central topic. After several rounds of conversation, the community begins to feel shared insights and common themes emerge. A common vision starts to form, and the participants begin to think about how they can realize the ideas that came from their conversations.

So we decided to set up several round tables on Rothschild Boulevard among the tents and invite the public to a discussion about social justice. The public’s response was surprising and very exciting.

For three weeks, evening after evening, we held discussions with people who had their tent set in the boulevard, and visitors from all over Israel who came to support and witness the unprecedented event taking place during the protest. 

One evening, a young man named Assaf suggested, “Why don’t we hold such roundtables all over the country?” When I heard his idea, I got goosebumps. I immediately saw the potential of the idea.

After a few days, we announced the ‘1,000 Round Tables’ initiative. It sounded crazy, but we believed we could invite 10,000 people to an enormous discussion about the future of Israeli society. The title we chose was: ‘From Tent to Circle – 1,000 Round Tables.’ 

Participants were invited from more than 30 sites where citizens gathered for a simultaneous discussion. The largest event was in Tel Aviv, in the plaza in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. By Saturday afternoon, the preparations were in full swing, and the square looked ready to accommodate thousands of citizens.

By 9pm, there was no room left around the tables. Five thousand people in Tel Aviv and another 5,000 in other places around the country began their rounds of conversation. The response was amazing and immense. Each table had a facilitator, pre-briefed to hold a discussion where listening was the key element. Each facilitator had a documentation assistant with a laptop, capturing the main points discussed at the tables. The atmosphere in the square was almost sacred. The discussions created a pleasant hum of relaxed conversation, listening, mutual respect and a willingness to see and hear the other, even if they did not agree on everything.

Everyone who participated in the event felt they were part of a historic moment, redefining what public participation could mean for shaping our shared lives and future.

Referendums and elections have long ceased to be the main expression of democracy. In these events, there is so much fake news and misinformation that it is hard to achieve the results people truly intended. The future lies in local citizen participation, in influencing their lives and choosing representatives they trust to represent them on larger issues at the national or global level. The roundtable event in 2011 was an early glimpse into the possibility of a different kind of democracy.

The main points of the discussions at all the tables were sent to a central editing desk, resulting in a central document highlighting the main topics raised. However, this document was not the most important outcome. What remained from the event was the deep yearning of citizens for solidarity. 

People listened to each other without trying to confront or flatten the discussion whenever they heard something different from their worldview. This created a sense that it was possible to be together even when there was disagreement. Even today, 13 years after the event, I occasionally receive emails or phone calls from people who participated, telling me how it changed their worldview and enabled them to initiate community initiatives and create impact by inviting all stakeholders together and overcome barriers that separate us. 

Unlike protests where the spotlight is on speakers competing to inspire the crowd with meaningful and hopeful words or sharp criticism, the action at the roundtables event was centered around the tables, in the listening and quiet, non-inflammatory conversation.

A few days after the event, I realized that creating this conversational event was a moment of leadership. Until that day, I hadn’t acknowledged myself as a leader. It wasn’t charismatic leadership expressed in a fiery speech. It wasn’t directive leadership telling people what to do. It was connective leadership, inviting people to get to know each other beyond cultural differences, political views and ethnic backgrounds. It was leadership that provided people with a space and a simple method to have this dialogue. It was leadership focused on the possibility that what connects us is greater than what separates us. And perhaps this is the kind of leadership the world needs in this era.”