Jews and Arabs in point blank range

June 23, 2009 - 7:32 PM by David · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Music, coexistence

point There are plenty efforts to attempt and bridge the wide social and cultural gap between Jewish and Arab teenagers in Israel, but there aren’t many that speak to the kids in their own language – music and video.

Windows for Peace, a non-profit, Tel Aviv-based organization that attempts to promote understanding between Israeli and Palestinian youth through media-related educational programs, is in the midst of running a two-week workshop for 15 teenagers, aged 15-17, from Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Bethlehem. By the end of the two weeks, the goal is to write and record a song, and make a video for it.

They’ve invited music professionals from London-based music college Point Blank to conduct the workshop, Jaffa and Bethlehem. Point Blank usually works with underpriveleged British teens, but according to its director, Rob Cowan, the same principles apply to the Jewish and Arab teens enrolled in Israel.

“Our group members are usually disaffected kids in danger of getting in trouble with the police, or just falling by the wayside of society. We’re just applying the same model as we do at home for Israelis and Palestinian kids, not because they’re marginalized, but because in music, there’s a channel to bring them together,” said Cowan.

The group of Israeli and Palestinian teens will record an original track and make an accompanying music video to explore issues relevant to their lives and experiences. The resulting music video will be disseminated via TV and the Internet, with the hopes of showing young people in the region that communication with the ‘other side’ is not only possible, but desirable and fruitful, according to the organizers.

According to Windows for Peace director Ruti Atsmon, the teens in the project have been working together through Windows for Peace for between one and three years. And though, like most teens, they’re tuned into music and video, they don’t necessarily possess any special musical or visual skills.

“We see the project as another tool to develop communication between them and as a start for them to create more in the future,” said Atsmon.

That may be quite lofty – it would be nice if they just got a good song and video out of it.

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Tags: Arabs, jews, Point Blank, Windows for Peace

Coexistence Exists

January 4, 2009 - 4:38 PM by Molly · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Blogging, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Politics, Religion, coexistence

It’s no surprise that main stream news is focusing on the current situation in Gaza and southern Israel. Watching CNN’s coverage Israel looks like a battlefield right out of any epic war movie. The images are constantly played over and over again—which means I get worried phone calls from America, over and over again.

But there is more to life than the images on the news. In Jerusalem, all is pretty much quiet. Yes, tensions are high and I feel the added stress, but life is still not the media’s picture of Israel. In fact there is more coexistence happening on a daily basis than most people are aware of.

Here is Jerusalem Jews and Arabs work together building fancy new high rises or the new light rail train across the city. Today I spoke with an Arab-Israeli who was taking a five-minute-break from his moving job. He sat drinking coffee with his co-workers, both Arabs and Jews, and spoke about the weather (the very cold Jerusalem winter) and my dog’s funny looking sweater (I though he might be cold, but the dog clothing thing is just not for me). The point is that small talk still exists—talking still exists and not all forms of communication are from one rocket to another.

On a larger scale, I think back to the recent coexistence projects I filmed in the Israeli mixed cities of Acre and Lod. Again, the news’s projection is all about violence and crime in these areas, rather than focusing on the positive stories taking place.

Most people now think of Acre as that city that had riots this past Yom Kippur. But Acre quickly recovered from the fighting and both sides remain relatively calm during the current military operations. When I was there in November, I didn’t feel tensions, but rather found the coexistence projects’ efforts really taking effect. The Israel21c video below shows some of the projects, sponsored by the Jewish Agency, that are taking place in Acre.

Last month, I filmed a story about a new coexistence project in Lod. Aviv Wasserman, a native Israeli, founded The Lod Community Foundation about six months ago with the goal of getting this poverty-stricken city back on its feet. Aviv is hardcore, and now lives in Lod where he has set up shop in his apartment. From his office-apartment to monthly meetings, he has built a network of concerned citizens that want to rebuild the city together. Lod is a very diverse city (Jews, Arabs, Russians, Ethiopians, Bedouins, Christians, etc.), but Aviv has managed to have representatives from each community take part in the committees and meetings. Again, you can watch the video below to learn more about his incredible project.

So, there you have it, the other side of conflict. It does exist, even if it doesn’t make the news.