Actions speak louder than words

I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while, traveling around the country and finding places to stay has been kind of wild. I have less than two weeks left on my trip and I don't have as much footage as I would like. I've never believed in the "underpromise, overdeliver" work-ethic. Mine has always been, "Set high goals. If you don't reach them, be upset." I still have two weeks that could be filled with some excellent footage and I'll still be able to make a good movie.

Most recently, I had some crazy adventures trying to get to Tel Aviv. I ended up staying in Pardes Hannah and making a 45 minute train ride to Tel Aviv each morning for a couple days. The result was two interviews, both with figures from the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The first was Irit Rub, director of the IPO's Keynote educational program, talking about one of their premier projects, Sheshbesh, and Arab-Jewish ensemble playing traditional Middle Eastern music. We talked about how the project came about, how it evolved, and the philosophy behind the group. They perform a lot at schools around the country as well as international events such as the interfaith ecological conference at Windsor Castle. When performing for children, Irit told me that they don't try to talk to them about coexistence or the fact that there are Arabs and Jews in the ensemble. She believed that you can't just discuss the subject in soundbites. There had to be a process and if they didn't have the time for that process, it would be more beneficial to just play the music for the children.

Afterwords, I interviewed Yossi Arnheim, principal flutist of the orchestra and a member of Sheshbesh. He continued to express the importance of them just playing the music together and how the Jewish musicians (all classically trained) had to step out of the traditional musical world they understood and learn how to play quartertones (notes we don't have in our western scales) on their respective instruments.

While their philosophy didn't entirely coincide with mine, there was one aspect I agreed with: actions speak louder than words. The fact that the group simply comes together without some sort of discussion about their cultures or the conflict surrounding them exemplifies an important strategy of many peace activists in the region: act as if peace is already here. This ideal has been on my mind a lot lately. I'm torn, not because I don't agree with or know how to implement it, but because I'm not sure when it should be employed.

Dialogue is a must for a grass-roots peace (or political for that matter) to become a reality. While I agree that we should behave peacefully, it is important for that uncomfortable conversation to take place: Why are your people afraid of mine? Why are mine afraid of yours? What did we take from each other? What do we owe each other? How can we reconcile so many generations of abuse, terror, fear, and hatred? If we ignore the conversation, no one will ever feel a sense of justice.

I'm in Jerusalem now, staying with some old friends who lived in Boulder for a few years. In this family are two sons my age who were two of my best friends when they were in the states. They're both in the army now, fulfilling their mandatory 3-year service. I've struggled a lot with how I feel about that law, and after seeing my old friends for the weekend and seeing the situation they've been forced into, I've made up my mind on it.

Tomorrow I'm going to walk to the old city. Last time I was in that area, I had a very life-changing event with a Palestinian boy. I'm pretty excited to see what happens this time.