ABSTRACT
Leading the Group Relations conferences during the war was challenging in a unique way, and that the images “sealed room” or “safe area” came up during the conference as a metaphor for the questions one is dealing with. The issue of leadership and surrender had an impact on the choice of the conference’s theme: authority, leadership and role – to lead, to surrender, to change. It stemmed from the idea that much emphasis is put on leadership but not enough attention is given to the conditions which are needed to follow. The primary task of Group Relations conferences is to build a safe area that enables the exploration of the experience of the individual in relation to his or her environment. The atmosphere of the days before the conference were heavy with tension between Arabs and Jews. The transformative movement was symbolically expressed in the last large-group meeting by the participant who previously declared her aversion to religious people.
