Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September-October 2008, pages 57-58

Music & Arts

Levantine Center Program

Levantine Center panelists (l-r) Naser Musa, Jordan Elgrably and Noa Baum (Staff photo S. Twair).

“A Land Twice Promised” was the title of Noa Baum’s June 21, 2008 presentation at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Los Angeles—the third program in a series on coexistence sponsored by Levantine Cultural Center. Adding a multi-ethnic touch to Baum’s monologue was the innovative music of Naser Musa, a Jordanian vocalist and master of the 'oud of Palestinian heritage. 

Baum holds a master’s degree in educational theater from New York University. Her presentation is based on conversations with her Palestinian friend, Jumana, and recollections from her Israeli mother.

During the question-and-answer period following the performance, Baum explained that she first met her Palestinian friend Jumana when both were students at the University of California at Davis. They were friends for seven years before they talked about their lives in Israel/Palestine.

“We need to listen to each other’s stories instead of arguing [politics],” stated Baum, who said it took three years to shape her presentation, which has been called anti-Israeli by Jews and not balanced by Palestinians. Yet many audience members applauded the performance, engaging in a passionate dialogue afterward with Naser Musa and moderator Jordan Elgrably, the center's co-founder and artistic director.

Baum said she worked on her mother’s memories of what happened in West Jerusalem in 1967. “I thought I knew everything about June 1967,” she said, “until I heard Jumana’s family’s recollections of the same events.

“The power of storytelling is that listeners take from the narrative whatever they want,” Baum concluded.

—Pat McDonnell Twair