New Palestinian-Israeli publication “Yalla Journal” pushes cooperation

Here’s some refreshing news. An Israeli and Palestinian have come up with a new publication called “Yalla Journal.” I met one of the writers last year and I am very impressed with their efforts. So here’s some information. They’re perfect for this very diverse group of Middle East writers. If you are in Chicago, stop by their launch or check out other cities where they may organize events. Or, maybe you want to help.

Also, I just came back from a two day media tour through Toronto Canada to promote the Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour. The heart of the Tour is the courage shown by Israeli comedian Charley Warady who discovered I had grown up in the same neighborhood with him when he was young and he said he wanted us to do comedy together. Charley, who lives in Jerusalem, is a tremendous standup comedian and he helped launch the very first tour we did in January after we added a few other comics to the lineup.

The fact that he is Israeli and that I am Palestinian is the heart of the tour. It breaks through the ridiculous taboo that many in the Arab community won’t cross, appearing with Israelis. It’s a stupid taboo. We do everything with them now, so why not on a comedy stage? Because the extremists use everything they can to control the situation and prevent peace from “breaking out.” (An extremist, by the way, is not defined just by holding an intolerant political view, but by the refusal to compromise, to tolerate different views and to attack the person rather than address the issues. It is also someone who supports violence, in my opinion.)

– Ray Hanania

Yalla Journal

Despite the frequent labelling of the youth demographic as “the future” and “the hope” of the never-ending Arab-Israeli conflict, they have often been unable to affect real change. The Arab and Jewish editors of The Yalla Journal decided to get together to create a space in the form of a printed book where their voices could co-exist in a time where there is no such physical space.

The Yalla Journal is a grassroots collaborative book that is a youth response to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It features 200 pages of the poetry, photography, short stories, personal narrative and essays of Jewish and Arab youth aged 18-30 from across the world. The Arabic word Yalla explains the mandate of the journal: it means “Come on! Let’s get going!” and is used colloquially in both Palestinian and Israeli dialect today. Through this call to action, the journal hopes to inspire the reader to choose communication over silence and dialogue over violence when dealing with the present situation. The journal poses questions like: “What does the conflict mean to Arab and Jewish youth today?” and “What does it mean to be Palestinian or Israeli?” It attempts to weave together a narrative through the stories and meditations generated by the various responses to these questions. In essence, Yalla hopes to help open up the much-needed lines of communication between Arab and Jewish communities abroad.

The first edition of The Yalla Journal was released in 2005 across University Campuses in Canada. The first launch was co-sponsored by the Arab Student’s Association and Hillel Jewish student groups. It generated much public interest. Yalla editors were featured in both the local and national media, and were interviewed on the local radio and spoke at University events across Eastern North America. They were also recipients of the 2005 Quebec Government’s Forces Avenir Award.

The second edition of the innovative journal was released in Canada in November and is ready to be released for the first time in the US! The launch party will feature live Arabic and Jewish artists and musicians, footwork performance/ interpretation of the conflict by some particularly concious Chicago youth, journal readings and free copies of the book.

The launch will take place at 7:30pm on Wednesday May 16 at the Mercury Cafe 1505 W. Chicago Ave (Chicago/Ashland… The Chicago stop on the blue and brown lines). Yalla invites you to join us as we “Get going!” Press copies are available upon request.

For further information contact yallajournal@yahoo.ca .

Sincerely,
Rachel Leya Davidson ,Senior Jewish Editor
Dina Awad, Senior Palestinian Editor

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