A 9/11 Gallery

May 20 (Tues.), 7:00 pm—Israel and Palestine at 60: Is There A Solution?

On Tuesday, May 20, 2008, an international gathering of authors, performers and activists will gather for a public forum, “Israel and Palestine at 60: Is There A Solution?”

Even as the Jewish/Israeli community celebrates the 60th anniverary of Israel’s founding, the Arab/Palestinian community is marking 1948-2008 as the 60th year of “al-Nakba”—the continuing catastrophe that characterizes life for Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and diaspora.

Meanwhile, there seem to be few forums that are honestly addressing the hard questions about where we—we Americans, we Arab Americans, we Jewish Americans and our friends who support peace and coexistence—go from here. Indeed, “Israel and Palestine at 60” may be the only Southern California program in May designed to reach out to both Jewish and Arab Americans who support non-violent resolution to the decades-old conflict.

The forum will feature Jerusalem-based author Bernard Avishai, whose new book “The Hebrew Republic” proposes economic arguments for a two-state solution. The London-based physician and writer Ghada Karmi, whose new book is “Married to Another Man: Israel’s Dilemma in Palestine,” argues for a single democratic state for both Palestinians and Israelis as the only viable solution in the long-term. Saree Makdisi, in his new book “Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation,” presents needed alternatives to the dire situation for Gaza and the West Bank. And Amy Wilentz, the former New Yorker correspondent in Jerusalem and author of the best-selling novel “Martyrs’ Crossing,” will present her own solutions from an American Jewish perspective.

More About the Forum
Organizers of the forum posit that while crisis and partition continue to characterize Israeli-Palestinian relationships, artists and writers, performers and scholars in both the United States and in Israel-Palestine are demonstrating on a daily basis that coexistence is happening on the ground, and that peace is indeed possible. They agree on several basic principles:
• There is no military solution to this conflict.
• The killing of civilians on both sides is senseless and tragic.
• They call on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to respect an immediate and permanent ceasefire, resolving to apply only non-violent mediation to reach a peace agreement.

This forum intends to create consensus and communitas among communities in conflict and is completely interfaith and intercultural. All welcome.

The program opens with live music and "Yoga/Salaat," a choreographed piece performed by Danielle Licht and Ameena Mirza. It begins with a voice over of Danielle's voice as she tells her brief story as a Jewish woman going to Morocco to live with a devout Muslim family to study Arabic. The lights come up with Danielle and Ameena on opposite sides of the stage, and the Salaat call to prayer begins. Danielle and Ameena perform their ritualistic movements, Danielle practicing yoga and Ameena ablution and salaat prayer. The audience can see the similarity in movement and the commonality of two practices of love. Danielle and Ameena then meet face to face and mirror each other's movements. There is a feeling of mutual understanding, respect and acceptance of one another.

The two women have come out of their own separate worlds to see each other eye to eye. Their movement together provides a deep human connection that transcends language, religion, and culture. The yoga/salaat becomes one dance of love and devotional practice, and intimate exchange of exploration and trust.

“Israel and Palestine at 60: Is There A Solution?” is organized by Levantine Cultural Center and the American Friends Service Committee, and cosponsored by Codepink: Women for Peace, Great Leap, ImaginAction, L.A. Jews for Peace, Muslim Public Affairs Council, Palisadians for Peace, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Ethics, the Salam-Shalom Educational Foundation and numerous other community groups and individuals in Los Angeles and beyond.

More About the Authors and Host
—Bernard Avishai, Ph.D., is Contributing Editor of Harvard Business Review. He splits his time between Jerusalem and Wilmot, New Hampshire. A Guggenheim Fellow, Avishai holds a doctorate in political economy from the University of Toronto. Before turning to management, he covered the Middle East as a journalist. He’s written dozens of articles and commentaries for The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, Harvard Business Review, Harper’s and many other publications. He is the author of three books on Israel, including the widely read, “The Tragedy of Zionism,” and his new book, “The Hebrew Republic” (Harcourt 2008). Read a capsule review of The Hebrew Republic in the New Yorker.

—Dr. Ghada Karmi is a London-based physician and one of the best-known commentators on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Author of the memoir “In Search of Fatima,” her latest book is “Married to Another Man: Israel’s Dilemma in Palestine” (Pluto Press 2008) which she says she wrote “to lay out my vision for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict…a personal and a political imperative. On the personal level, I had long felt that I would never be at peace if I did not see this terrible conflict resolved in my lifetime, that a situation so dangerous and tragic could not be allowed to persist.” Read more about Married to Another Man.

—Saree Makdisi, Ph.D., is a UCLA professor of comparative literature and frequent Los Angeles Times op-ed contributor, whose new book is “Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation” (Norton 2008). He is the son of a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother. Read an interview with Saree Makdisi.

—Amy Wilentz is a prize-winning non-fiction author and novelist who has written for The Nation, The New Republic, Newsday, Time, The New York Times, and The New Yorker, where she was the Jerusalem correspondent from 1995 to 1997. She is the author of “Martyrs' Crossing” (Simon & Schuster). The Baltimore Sun wrote of the book, “Wilentz has accomplished nearly the impossible....She has captured the corrosive moral shortcomings of Israeli and Palestinian leaders and the near helplessness of the people pulled into their wake—yet she renders virtually all of them with a deeply knowing sympathy.” Read about Martyrs' Crossing.

—Eric Roberts is an activist and actor who has observed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through various phases of peace talks and two Intifadas, and feels engaged as an American who knows his government plays a key role in its peaceful resolution. He is an Academy Award nominee for his role in “Runaway Train”and a three-time Golden Globe nominee for “Runaway Train,” “Star 80” and “King of the Gypsies.” He received critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival for his roles in “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” in 2006 and “It’s My Party” in 1996. He starred in “La Cucaracha,” which won Best Film at the Austin Film Festival in 1998, and for which Roberts won Best Actor in the New York Independent Film Festival that same year. Other notable performances include his roles in “Final Analysis,” “The Pope of Greenwich Village,” “Raggedy Man,” “Babyfever,” “Heaven’s Prisoners,” “The Specialist” and “The Grave.” This summer, he will be seen in “The Dark Knight,” the highly anticipated sequel to “Batman Returns.”

Deborah Kanafani is the former wife of Yasser Arafat's senior advisor and spokesman. She has been Director of International Productions for the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, where she wrote and produced programs on children’s and women’s rights for the UNDP, UNICEF, and various European countries. While in the Middle East she ran conflict resolution programs between Palestinians and Israelis. She was Executive Director of Women in Film and Video in Washington, DC, and a consultant for Oxygen Media. She began her work in media affairs when she did her masters thesis on "The portrayal of the Middle East conflict in high school history textbooks and its impact on stereotyping. " She is the author of "Unveiled" How an American Woman Found Her way Through Politics, Love and Obedience in the Middle East". She currently lives in New York and Los Angeles, where she is producing a film on the life of Queen Dina and writing a children's series that introduces children to various periods of art. She sits on the board of JustVision.org.

Reservations strongly suggested as seating is limited. Call 310.657.5511 or online:

Bring your ideas, enthusiasm and support to the Center by participating in our Programming Committee, which cooperates with our Board of Directors in creating new arts programs in the months ahead. Visit our volunteer opportunities page. To get on the reservation list for the next meeting, email us now!

Levantine Center's Board of Directors is continually seeking to work with new volunteers who may be invited to join the board. We welcomes inquiries—we are actively searching for more people with our passion and conviction! Our core group of volunteers consists of diverse members of the community who are of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean heritage or who have a strong professional or artistic interest in furthering our mission. Our volunteers work on literary, film, fine art, music and educational programming.

Our Advisory Board is also in formation. Advisory board members are known professionally in their own communities and offer valuable counsel and services to the organization; they are eligible to attend the organization's annual retreat and receive other benefits.

Please contact us at 310.657.5511.

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