Ohio’s inspiring Jewish and Arab community
February 12th, 2008The University of Chicago’s Arab community was a big disappointment for me when we performed there for MASA-Israel Journeys and Hillel — not only would they not attend the open performance of the Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour, they even refused to circulate the information about it to their students. Many UC Arab and Palestinian students said no one told them about the show and they would have come. Well, the elitist manipulators don’t want them to be exposed to sanity, moderation, reason, common sense and a true sense of hope for a peaceful future for Palestinians and Israelis
I have to say that the UC’s Hillel and MASA chapters were amazingly impressive, open and so supportive of the whole concept. Many of my jokes were tough shots at the Israelis, and they have thick skins, laughed and took the humor for exactly what it was, an effort to help ease the tensions and even understand the perspective of the other side. I admire them for their openness and their courtesy. They were great, such a starl contrast to some of the pro-Palestinian activists at the University who live their lives in bitterness, zealotry and just plain meanness.
We just finished another show tonight at the University of Ohio at Columbus and the show was organized by MASA-Israel Journeys and also Hillel. And there were more than 400 people packed in the theater at the college Hillel building and there was a huge contingent of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims who also attended and laughed along with everyone as both sides of comedians, Israeli and Palestinian, joined by two religious Jews, poked fun at everyone and everything equally. One Palestinian girl came up to me and said she had never been int he Hillel house and di not speak much with the Jewish students but was blown away by their courtesy and hospitality and friendship, their desire for a peace. She said the comedy was HILARIOUS, which is the word we are getting at every campus so far (Madison, UC, Iowa state University at Iowa City, and now the University of Ohio at Columbus). Several Muslims came up to me also and said they were not sure about coming but left believing that we MUST do this more often.
We Palestinians and Jews, Arabs and Israelis who live in the United States can either one of two things. We can either contribute to the conflict by throwing kerosene on the conflict and increasing the tension, or, we can do something good to help resolve it. We can fan the flames or we can help put out the fire. We can increase the animosity or we can help promote understanding. We DO NOT have to agree with each other about history, about events nor about the future peace that is inevitable. There will be two states, one Israel and one Palestine. We can either let the fanatics lead or we can demand that they be accountable for their failed leadership and insist that we treat each other in the manner that is reflective of our true cultures and religions. Being kind to an enemy is the foundation of Islam and of Arab culture and when Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians came to tonight’s show, they were demonstrating the true nature of what it means to be a real Arab, a real Palestinian and a real Muslim.
We’re not about hate. We are about being fair. About justice. About doing the right thing. And about recognizing that we are all human beings.
A salute goes out to the organizers at MASA and Hillel who organized the show tonight at Columbus, to my friend Rannie, Mahmoud, and the other Arabs and Muslims who attended, and to the friendship from the Jews and Israelis who attended the show.
I am moved after every show.
thank you
Ray Hanania
www.IPComedyTour.com
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I have to tell you that, with all of the bad news, negative news, hate, anger, pain, despair,etc that is out there, or rather, around here (Israel and Palestine), it is so nice to read your post!
Thank you so much for trying to make a difference in such a fantastic way.
Great article. I don’t agree with everything said, but a fantastic effort and more of this way of communicating is needed. All the best,
Josh
Ray,
I wish I was there to see the show, I am so happy to hear what I hear from you, a palestinian, I can see how your efforts in making a difference has affected your own views, I love to read what you write Ray. I wasn’t there maybe some years from now I will be able to see it, who knows, but I cheer as you find it fruitful, I love how the show has inspired you my dear, I send my truest Salaam and Shalom to all people in ISrael and Palestine who long for peace, happiness, coexisting in a dignified manner, a friednly manly ( and womanly) manner you all deverve, we all deserve, we are all so natuarally entitled to that.
Best wishes Ray
The thing I most dislike about your articles is that you say everybody who disagrees with you is an extremist.
Yaman he didn’t say that, but it is true that there are extremists who would not like any kind of normalization in the atmosphere regarding the Israeli and Palestinian relations. right>
Ray, good on ya homeboy! This post is so full of hope. Makes me feel better. I wish this hope/humor/goodwill mix would infect everybody as it seems to have affected your audiences! Excellent work Ray! I’m truely proud of you! Please keep it up!
Hey Yaman … you never agree with me, but I don’t think you are an extremist … unless, of course, you believe: you should avoid all Israelis; avoid all Jews who don’t agree with you; refuse to communicate with Palestinians with whom you disagree with; refuse to circulate an email note about an Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour to your email list.
Oh, that’s a good question, Yaman. Would you have sent the note to your friends if I asked you to please circulate it? (And, if you had me on your list and circulated email notes to me all the time?) Would you? A simple answer will do.
Those who refused to circulate it are extremists, in my opinion. An extremist is a one-sided fanatic who rejects openness, denies the other and blames a people rather than a policy. And, an extremist is someone who applies a principle to themselves, but denies it to those they disagree with?
We had another GREAT COMEDY SHOW at Hillel in Ann Arbor. The Palestinians were organizing Palestine Awareness Week. Great group of students and I know many of them and they contacted me to say they would have come to the show even at Hillel, had it not been for their own events. Several did come to the show and said they will see if they can get the Palestinians to invite the Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour back to campus (and invite Hillel and Jewish students to attend, too.)
They’re not all extremists. Just some.
The Hillel students and our sponsors MASA-Israel Journeys, have been phenomenal. They laughed when I beat the Israelis up with my jokes and they laughed when I beat the Arabs up with my jokes. They didn’t bitch because they didn’t like a joke criticizing Israel. They laughed and laughed hard.
Thanks
Ray Hanania
http://www.IPComedyTour.com
Ray, I am proud of you for organizing this tour, and for standing up against extremism, wherever it may be found.
Laughter is one way of connecting people. Common sense is another. Perhaps laughter can be a short cut to common sense. We laugh and we realize that a lot of what we think we believe is really a bunch of nonsense; so nonsensical in fact, that it makes us laugh, when presented in just the right way.
I like how you make the point that it is quickly becoming decision time. We either start making sense of our lives, by giving each other a chance, or we’re going down. It’s that simple. And if that happens, it won’t be quite so funny.
Quite frankly I am not surprised by your disappointment in UofC’s Arab Community. I went to school there in the mid-90’s and found the atmosphere of gatherings to be stifling and suppressive of any dissent. They are dominanted by a bunch of old-school rejectionists and other political eccentrics.