Nemashim × ×žØ´ÙŠÙ…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqGaqYKtw7g[/youtube]
In October 2005, I arrived in Nazareth, Israel with one question: can the performing arts be a means of ending the linguistic impass that is both symptom and aggravator of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? I speak both Hebrew and Arabic, and I enjoyed immensely the opportunities I had to watch plays in both languages…but when could I sit in a theater and hear them spoken together? Can a play in two langauges, not translated but actually dynamically written in these tongues actually reach an audience?
I found my answer when I began to work with the theater group Nemashim. Nemashim means “freckles” in Hebrew, and founder Uri Shani writes it as it may appear in the title above; half Hebrew, half Arabic. Uri and his co-teacher, Palestinian Israeli Shadi Fakhr Al-Din (you may have seen him in various Shammas-Nahas productions, including the widely acclaimed farce Shukren) both speak fluent Hebrew and Arabic, and conduct their workshops in both languages.
Nemashim is a two-year commitment which allows 12th grade citizens of Israel, half Palestinian and half Jewish, the opportunity to study theater at an advanced level for a series of 6 weekend workshops that take place at Givat Haviva and in Nazareth. Then, 5-6 are selected to live in a communal setting for the following year, postponing university or the army to do community service and provide performing arts programming for the mixed community of Neve Yossef-Halisa. With a population that includes recent immigrants, Russian Jews, Ethiopians, Palestinian Israelis and even exiled southern Lebanese Christians, this is an optimal environment for a group such as Nemashim to make a difference.
I posted an example of one of their children’s plays…be patient and you can hear how they structure dialogue in Arabic and Hebrew so that mixed groups of students can watch the same play and understand everything that goes on, even though half of the words are in another langauge. There are many more examples of street theater, rehearsals and workshops on YouTube. Let me know if you find this interesting, and I’ll virtually introduce you to Or, Ahmad, Khaled, Rinana, Amina and Danial.
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This is great! Thank you for posting this fascinating piece of info about things I didn’t even know existed.
Can you explain your background to us? An Egyptian-Israeli is certainly a rare find.
Patrick, to my understanding she is neither. She just traveled extensively within the region and speaks both languages, and has lived in Cairo for at least a year.