""I know from working with women in Rwanda, and Israelis and Palestinians that a critical step in healing is letting go of the past," the program's convener, Dena Merriam, tells the group." (Letting go of the past? It is easy for you to say, in New York. Letting go of past of dictatorship, occupation, confiscation of lands, oppression, and murder? Letting go? This is like saying to a battered woman "get over it." Never. And please spare me your New Agy, touchy-feely gatherings, ok?)