Singing to the Peace Tune

Hello-
I figured I'd post this article I wrote for ALLMEP's website. It took me so long I don't know if it will actually be published, but I figured I'd put it up here anyway. Enjoy!

Building Peace, One Note At A Time

You can call them many things--ambassadors for peace, progress makers, barrier breakers, models of coexistence—just don’t call them off key!

Mira Awad, a Christian Palestinian from Galilee, and Noa (Achinoam Nini), an Israeli Jew, are singers working towards peace and coexistence through the power of their voices, in song form. While many people speak out against violence and war in the region, these two women chose instead to sing about the need for peace in Israel/Palestine. They hope to spread the word of peace to whoever in the world isn’t yet listening, one note at a time.

The duo’s song, “There Must Be Another Way”, was broadcast on this year’s Eurovision contest, in which the pair performed as representatives of Israel. The song’s lyrics are sung in English, Arabic and Hebrew and argue, as its title implies, that there must be an alternative to the present situation. “And when I cry, I cry for both of us…My pain has no name,” the lyrics state, telling the world that both sides of this conflict suffer and that both an Israeli and a Palestinian can relate to the pain the other is feeling.

The performance was aired in the midst of the conflict between Israel and Gaza, causing a flurry of criticism against the duo. An open letter was drafted, asking the pair to withdraw from the competition. The letter stated that the performance was just Israeli propaganda—a way of taking the world’s eyes off of the war in Gaza and putting them on a more positive vision of the situation in Israel/Palestine.

This criticism is outlined in a JTA article by Dina Kraft, “For Arab-Jewish singing duo, coexistence conquers criticism.” (http://jta.org/news/article/2009/05/04/1004896/arab-jewish-duo-head-for-singing-contest-amid-criticism) This article published a statement from the letter sent to the women, saying that, “The Israeli government is sending the two of you to Moscow as part of its propaganda machine that is trying to create the appearance of ‘coexistence’ under which is carries out the daily massacre of Palestinian civilians.” The sentiments expressed in this letters and by its supporters can be seen by recent protests occurring in Brooklyn, NY, where 150 people protested in support of boycotting Israeli based dance group, Batsheva Dance Company, which was performing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music during the war in Gaza. (http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/10/32_10_bm_bam_protest.html)

This article points out further criticism of the duo on behalf of right-wing Israeli law makers, who question Awad’s ability to ‘properly’ represent Israel. Awad, who grew up in Haifa and has expressed mixed emotions about being asked to perform in the show at the same time as the war in Gaza was occurring, is the first Israeli Arab to represent Israel in this competition. Awad is quoted in the article as responding to this criticism with stating, “I have a lot of friends who are Jewish Israelis, people who love me and would give their life for me. And therefore it opens your eyes when you realize the human connection is first and foremost, and then come the issues of nationality and religion.

The women did not withdraw, and have since also performed the song “Word” together. Despite their critics, these brave women are using their talents to work towards bringing about peace and letting the world now that it is possible for Israelis and Palestinians to work together, even if it’s just for a song. This positive momentum is exactly what the region, and the world needs.