Dr. Ofer Grosbard
I was born in Tel Aviv in 1954. Graduate of the Faculty of Computer Engineering, Technion, Israel; clinical psychologist and also a graduate of the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, GMU (Ph.D); psychotherapist of children, adolescents and adults in my private clinic; cross-cultural researcher, author of 8 books and lecturer. My main interest in the past decade has been mediating East and West – a traditional-collectivist society versus a modern-individual one; the former being an outwardly directed vector in which people tend to think in group terms, while the latter being an inwardly directed vector in which people tend to think in "I" terms. In this way Eastern and Western paradigms of mind are created, which hinders cross-cultural communication in all areas of life. I have a special interest in developing Israelis' ability to communicate in the "cultural language" of their Arab neighbors, and also to understand how Arabs should communicate with Israelis in the Israelis' "cultural language" – in order to ensure that Israelis will be open to receiving their messages.
