On April 11, 2016, a Bimat Mandel event took place at which the writer Ala Hlehel gave a lecture and facilitated a fascinating discussion about the tumultuous and sometimes even violent encounters between tradition and modernity. Hlehel spoke about the unspoken clashes and the challenges that these encounters pose to us. He expressed strong and courageous views about religious-traditional coercion and about the exclusion of dialogue and of "enlightened and progressive values" from the conversation.
During the meeting with Ala Hlehel, the participants held a profound, critical, and courageous discussion about the processes that are under way in Israeli society in general and in Arab society in particular.
