Opinion Editorials, June 2007
June 2007 Opinion Editorial Links
|
|
Comedy tour opens doors of tolerance and respect
By Ray Hanania
ccun.org, June 22, 2007
Some people view the Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour as a political movement.
But as a performing member and co-founder, I see the comedy team as a way to bring people who are in the midst of an intractable conflict together. And that's far more important than politics.
The tour includes myself, Israeli comedians Charley Warady and Yisrael Campbell, an African American Jewish convert Aaron Freeman. I've written Op-Eds for scores of newspapers in the United States and the Middle East and was named Best Ethnic Columnist in America last November.
Warady is a veteran of Comedy Central and comedy clubs across the United States. He has lived in Israel for the past 15 years. Yisrael Campbell is a convert to Orthodox Judasim and performs his one man show all over the United States and in Israel. Aaron Freeman is a veteran commentator for NPR Radio and Huffington Post.
None of the performers hold back in their comedy routines. Some jokes can be tough on either side, with Israeli audiences wincing at my humorous take on the brutal and oppressive occupation, to the Israeli and Jewish comedians challenging Arab perceptions on what is and isn’t resistance.
In the end though, the comedy team brings Palestinians and Israelis together in a way they have never been, as a community members in the same theaters and stadiums, forced to acknowledge each other’s existence.
And when people laugh together, they can live together. Humor is a very powerful means of changing stereotypes, manage anger and separate true hate from hate driven by frustration, anger and suffering.
The Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour was launched in January and performed five shows. The success of the standing-room only crowds was magnified by the fact that the five shows (in Tel Aviv, West Jerusalem and East Jerusalem) were organized with less than four weeks planning.
The second tour received a much more enthusiastic support before the shows, with 10 shows held throughout Israel from Haifa in the north to Beersheva in the South in the Negev Desert. A special show for mostly Palestinians was organized in East Jerusalem, drawing nearly 300 people at the Ambassador Hotel.
A third tour is being planned for late November and December and will include more cities, and expand into the occupied territories to include a “Finding the Funniest Palestinian Standup Comedian Contest.”
As individuals, we sometimes fall into the trap of believing we can change how our governments act. We respond to the actions they take and to the consequences that occur, usually all very negative and discouraging.
What do we do? Engage in the anger and frustration? Respond to the failure to achieve peace by attacking the other side?
The Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour believes that the Israeli and Palestinian communities can respond in a different way, not falling into the trap of anger and provocation, and instead recognizing that we are all just people.
If we, as people, can come together in peace and justice, maybe we can change how our leaders act. Maybe we can help them move from failure to success.
If you would like more information on the Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour, please visit our web site at www.IPComedyTour.com.
(We also have a media kit and hi-resolution photographs that you can download from the site, too.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
||||||
