Another wonderful Community Cinema event. We were blessed to have Jamie Zimron, founding director of the Salaam Shalom Middle East Aikido Peace Project to begin the evening with a very special presentation on her work in building peace and cross-cultural dialogue through the art of Aikido. The short film she shared on the Training Across Borders workshops in Cyprus was a beautiful and inspiring introduction to “Shadya.” Virtually our entire audience stayed for the discussion following the film.
As always, we'd hate for it to end there. Here is another opportunity for you to respond to the film. Use the "comments" link below to post questions, share insights and/or ideas of how to get involved. After all, Community Cinema is more than just a film forum; it is a tool for civic engagement! Here are some questions to start you off...
Shadya says, "I think I'm in the middle: Palestinian, Israeli - who am I? Israel is my country. Palestinians are Arabs. I 'm also Arab, so where does that put me?" How would you answer her? Do you have conflicting identities? What role do your ethnic, religious and national identities play in who you are and how you lead your life?
Shadya's father, Mazen, says, "People have reached the moon. You think there's a difference between Muslims, Christians and Jews? We're all the same." His sons disagree. If you were part of the conversation, what would you have said?
Jamie Zimron in her presentation spoke of Aikido as a natural tool for peace. What other kinds of things work as successful tools for bringing conflicting groups together? Music, art, community service projects? Please share your experiences...
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