I had a discussion with a couple of Jewish people during this aristocrat wedding in lovely France - you would not believe how great the weather is today and how annoyed I am at having to spend time working on projects at school because the last three days were very unproductive.

It turns out that they were offended by a movie that I did not expect to be offensive to them - as quite faithful to what it was based on. It is a very controversial movie and the point of this post is not to discuss it any further here (happy to do this offline though and I can post any enlightening point with your permission).

It allows me to make a point. I keep this journal for informative and entertainment purposes. I intend to offend no one but I may do so inadvertently, often by ignorance.

For instance, I never realized how essential the land of Israel was to them and why - nor in how they resented the fact that people associated their Holy Scriptures with the Old Testament, and paid little attention to the comments (Talmud if I remember correctly) - myself included.

I respect freedom of speech and the right for everyone to have a different opinion. these opinions can be formulated in such a way that they are not offending. It is also more likely that the other party will listen to your views more completely that way. Differing opinions on any subject never needs be associated with lack of respect for the other party. Voltaire once wrote "Even if I disagree with what you have to say, I will fight until my dying day so that you are able to say it". Offensive language is a lack of respect. If it is by ignorance it can be easily corrected if you take the time to educate the other person and explain the source of your grief.

Someone asked me why the international aspect was so important at Insead. He did not see how it could matter in business. I do not think that I can formulate a general answer, a lot has to do with your own personal objectives.
One thing that is true is that Insead is a good school of such respect-building communication. I admit flatly that I am ignorant of many of the ways of this world and i will continue to make mistakes. I am more sensitive though to how they can be interpreted and I am more aware of how I can avoid them in the future. It is rare to see a school where Arab Week embraces all of the Arab countries, even though in reality, they are far from presenting such a United front, where Indian and Pakistanese students work in the same cubicle and make joint plans to play cricket, where the French and the Brits organize their National Week back to back and with a gentle tap on the shoulder and where the English-Speaking mass is oecumenical.

This journal expresses my views at any point in time and they might change over the course of this program - feel free to challenge them (where on Earth has the comment box disappeared?!) and if I have offended any of you, dear Reader, accept my apologies, pop me an e-mail and educate me.