Steve Kramer – Experiencing is Believing
Michal and I went up to Jerusalem the other day. The weather was perfect, incredibly bright and sunny, hot but breezy, with the promise of a cool night – so typical of Jerusalem’s summer time. We left our apartment in Kfar Sava after lunch, the better to avoid heavy traffic into Israel’s capital – the new home of the American Embassy.
Our first destination was the Israel Museum, where we spent a few hours, mostly in the current major exhibition, Fashion Statements – Decoding Israeli Dress. This beautiful and interesting show presents a century of dress in Israel. “The exhibition explores the late 19th-century indigenous pre-Zionist ‘fashion,’ the opposing forces of ‘Europeanism’ and ‘Orientalism’ that converged in the early decades of the state, and, finally, the place that Israeli creativity holds on the global fashion scene today.” (imj.org) Never mind the verbiage – the exhibition is excellent.
With time to spare, we treated ourselves to a light supper at the King’s Garden Restaurant on the sublime terrace of the venerable King David Hotel, probably Jerusalem’s finest premium travel experience. We had an excellent view of the Old City, accompanied by surprisingly large and tasty appetizer plates. Not only that, the prices are comparable, or less, than other restaurants in the city sporting table cloths and fine service.
We had planned to see a new documentary at the StandWithUs office, only steps away from the King David. This great organization’s mission is, “Supporting Israel Around The World, Through Education And Fighting Anti-Semitism.”
StandWithUs is an international, non-profit Israel education organization, founded in 2001, dedicated to educating people of all ages about Israel and to combating the anti-Semitism and extremism that often distorts the issues. Its credo: that knowledge of the facts will correct common prejudices about the Arab-Israeli conflict, and will promote discussions and policies that can help promote peace in the region. Through many avenues StandWithUs ensures that the story of Israel’s achievements and ongoing challenges gets to middle schools, high schools, and college campuses across the world. StandWithUs has eighteen offices and chapters across the U.S., Canada, Israel and in the UK. (standwithus.com)
Unusually, this evening’s film, Quest4Truth, was a not a StandWithUS documentary, but one that ended up working by what could be called an accident. In fact, the whole story of the film’s production by the Generation2Generation organization (https://g2gmandate.org) was serendipitous. A grass roots, Christian Zionist group, G2G decided to make a documentary that, evidently, nobody else had done. It follows 11 young people from 7 different nations as they explore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the scene, speaking to Palestinians and Israelis and forming opinions based on what they heard and saw – not what’s portrayed in the media. The mother and son duo, Daphne and Andrew Kirk, impressed the audience with their sincerity and play-by-play of how the film came into being from a mere suggestion. Andrew said, “Supporting Israel is in the core DNA of the organization and all who work in it.”
The filmmakers were scrupulous in letting the young people ask their own questions and form their own opinions. Only after filming was finished did the producers reveal their own opinions. We saw the 90 minute version, which was riveting. There is an additional version with a bonus section specifically for Christian organizations.
Our audience was composed of ardent Zionists who sometimes laughed out loud at the statements made by the Palestinian leaders (and one Fatah Party operative). But the young participants, who typically were not well versed in the situation on the ground in Israel, asked many of the same questions that high school or college age people all over wonder about.
The real life that the young people experienced was often at odds with what the Palestinian proponents told them. In one segment, the Vice Mayor of Bethlehem graciously told the group how happy the populace was to welcome them, when there was practically a riot going on outside over the simple fact that questions were being asked! (We found out about the commotion in the Q&A afterwards.)
For most of the participants, the mission to Israel/Palestinian Territory opened their eyes to the reality on the ground. Others, more knowledgable, were confirmed in their opinions that the Israelis are victims of lies spread by the Western (and of course, Arab) media.
While this documentary is imperfect in a few minor details, it goes a long way towards explaining the truth to young people – if they have open minds and haven’t been brainwashed by the progressive BDS movement (boycott, divestment, sanction), which includes groups such as JVP (Jewish Voice for Peace), If Not Now, Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine (CJPIP), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), American Muslims for Palestine, Code Pink, National Students for Justice in Palestine, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights… and more!
It is definitely worth making an effort to popularize this film among high school and college youth. It has been released on YouTube and Vimeo for free. A high quality version is available and speakers can be arranged for groups from quest4truth.org. Of course, StandWithUs can also supply films, documentaries, booklets, presentations, and other resources to educate older and younger folks about the truth in the Middle East.
Watching Quest4Truth was interesting and informative. It capped a great day in Jerusalem, Israel, which is currently enjoying more tourists than ever in its history. Have you visited yet? What about lately?
pics: edomshow.com, standwithus.com, shalomisraeltours.com, jpost.com
