Anyhow, my point was that you really can't compare the opinions of participants vs. non-participants to deduce conclusions about the effectiveness of the workshops. I suggested we should still look at both groups, but treat them independently. For instance we should still ask non-participants about their affinity for such workshops, their knowledge about the existence of such workshops, and get a general idea of their views of the other side. And we should still ask participants about the impact of workshops on their perspective of the political situation, and also, on their personal feelings about individuals from the other side. Yet this is still somewhat problematic.
People are really bad at rembering how and when their attitudes transform.
I've always been pro-choice. Ideology seems to develop cumulatively over time, and it's dangerous to overgeneralize and use single events of the time-line to account by itself for changes in ideology. I know that in the future bi-communal mediation will become a great part of my life and all of my canalized professional energy will be devoted to it. Heh, maybe then my Turkish will come to use. But for now, I have to study other things that seem to make me happy as well, but not quite, and live a sterile life, and wait for that day.