Too Good To Last - For Now
What a gesture, assembling a group of children from the Jenin Refugee Camp and bringing them inside Israel to perform songs of peace for elderly Israelis, survivors of the Holocaust. The Palestinian youth, aged from 11 to 18, playing musical instruments and singing accompaniment weren't aware they would be playing before an audience of Holocaust survivors; they came to Israel at the initiative of their music teacher who wanted to strike a chord for peace and understanding.The children, in fact, would have had no real idea what the Holocaust represented. This was a new and vastly different kind of exposure for them, and for the elderly Israelis as well, who were amazed to hear their entertainment guests came from Jenin.
When the young people were finally advised who their audience represented and precisely what the history of the Holocaust was, they were shocked and sympathetic to hear of a systematic campaign during wartime to exterminate world Jewry. "Only people who have been through suffering understand each other" commented an 18-year-old keyboard player whose grandparents were Palestinian refugees.
The thirteen musicians comprised a modest orchestra named Strings of Freedom, the event held at the Holocaust Survivors Center, as part of Good Deeds Day. During that two-hour introduction of two solitudes; young Palestinians, elderly Israelis, human contact and understanding was achieved.
The Palestinian youths had never encountered Israelis outside the military, and were struck by how unlike these elderly people were to their own. Twelve-year old Ahed Salameh, wearing a black head scarf remarked "They don't look like us. Old people look different where we come from".
Their 50-year-old conductor, Wafa Younis, herself from the Arab village of Ara in Israel, announced the peace program in flawless Hebrew; "Inshallah", responded an elderly Jewish woman. The Arabic songs accompanied with violins and Arabic drums moved the audience.
Ms. Younis dedicated one song to the abducted soldier Gilad Shalit, then went on to criticize Israel's West Bank settlements. She stressed the orchestra's mission; to help Palestinian children overcome the trauma of war, and to help adversaries to recognize their common humanity. "I'm here to raise spirits" she said; "These are poor, old people."
For her pains, Wafa Younis has been forbidden to enter Jenin again. The apartment where the Strings of Freedom orchestra were taught is boarded up, and the orchestra disbanded. "She exploited the children", said the head of the municipal committee. "She will be forbidden from doing any activities. We have to protect our children and our community."
That the Holocaust is a historical fact is not denied. Palestinians feel that the suffering that Jews experienced is now being foisted upon them. And they were innocent of wrong-doing, becoming victims of circumstances beyond their control. "We were forced to flee and we've lived in refugee camps for the past 50 years.
The director of the charity organizing the event, Good Spirit, expressed his disappointment in the outcome. "They approached us and volunteered to play. Wafa knew the orchestra would play before Holocaust survivors. We wanted to bring peoples' hearts closer together and if they are against that then that's a real shame.
The Palestinians are standing firm. The polarized needs of two disparate people. Demanding their grievances be acknowledged before they will be prepared to relent. Who can blame them. That is not the entire story, but it is their story.
Labels: Israel, Middle East, Political Realities, Troublespots
posted by Pieface @ Sunday, March 29, 2009
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