At the center of this darkly comic Broadway play is a powerful lesson in mediation.

IPI President Terje Rød-Larsen, who at the time was a social scientist, and Norwegian diplomat Mona Juul planned and orchestrated top-secret, high-level meetings in Norway between the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Mr. Rød-Larsen’s research on the West Bank and Gaza Strip prompted secret conversations in 1992 between an Israeli member of parliament and a local Palestinian leader, which led to a secret channel for negotiations in Norway. Mr. Rod-Larsen’s facilitation of those talks, in partnership with the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, culminated in the historic Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the government of Israel.

Prior to taking the helm at IPI in 2005, Mr. Rød-Larsen served in senior leadership and advisory roles within the Norwegian government and at the United Nations. Championing civility and finding commonalities among divergent perspectives, he continues a lifelong pursuit of creating a more peaceful world.

IPI is committed to fostering mediated multilateral solutions to end conflicts through peaceful means. Join the conversation using #institutepeace.

Watch a conversation with the play’s Director Bartlett Sher, Playwright J.T. Rogers, and IPI President Terje Rød-Larsen, held at IPI on March 29, 2017.

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