In history, it has often proven dangerous to attempt to be a peacemaker. In fact, men from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to John F. Kennedy and even Malcolm X — once he realized his own philosophy of hate was going nowhere and advocated peace between the races — have fallen victims to assassinations because of their ideals.
When we look to the Middle East, the list grows to include Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In April of 2011, Palestinian-Israeli actor and director Juliano Mer-Khamis was murdered by masked gunmen outside his theater in Jenin, where he worked to promote a meeting of minds.
But if you think that trend is done nowadays, well, while we may not always find peacemakers the victims of assassination attempts, there are other ways in which their efforts at world peace can be hindered and suppressed.
Take the case in point of the Other Israel Film Festival in NYC. It’s a small yet powerful 13 year old film festival taking place in mid-November at multiple locations throughout New York City. Places like Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, as well as Alamo Drafthouse Downtown Brooklyn, JCC Harlem, and NYU for one week, starting on the 14th of November, come alive with the works of Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers, stories of Arab and Jews living and working side by side and bridges of culture and peace coming together for the better of all mankind. And yet, the media on both sides find it problematic to cover the festival. I can tell you from personal experience that Arab publications shy away from talking about an event that even features the world “Israel” in its title and so this opportunity to make the world a better place is lost in a kind of limbo of cancel culture which makes it both baffling and nearly criminal is my book. The lack of coverage, I mean — NOT the great festival with all its wonderful intentions.
In the midst of this wonderful event, there are several films worthy of attention. One is the opening night film for this year’s edition, Philippe Bellaiche and Rachel Leah Jones’ daring documentary ‘Advocate’, a look at the life and work of Jewish-Israeli lawyer Lea Tsemel. A screening of it was recently cancelled at a documentary film festival in northern Israel after pressure from Israel's Culture Minister Miri Regev because she thought the film glorifies terrorists. Ms. Regev is always in the news for her outrageous statements — including her fashion statements — and it seems she loves the old saying “the only bad media coverage is no coverage at all.”
Personally, I found ‘Breaking Bread’ my favorite work of art of possibilities screening at this year’s festival. It features Nof (Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel to those who don’t know her) the first Arab winner of the Israeli Masterchef competition, as well as a slew of Arab and Jewish chefs who meet in Haifa to cook together, side by side, sharing recipes and helping this world be a better place.
Anthony Bourdain famously said “Food may not be the answer to world peace… But it’s a start!” And that’s how Beth Hawk’s beautiful, hunger-inducing film begins — with his words in white on the black screen. She follows the late, world-traveling chef’s prophecy with a big bowl of hummus and I was literally hooked at “hello.”
Shlomi, a Jewish chef from Haifa and Ali, an Arab chef from a village in the Golan, share a meal
“Even food is better when it’s colorful,” declares Nof at one point, after talking about how she came up with the idea of the A-Sham Food Festival in Haifaa, “variety is better.” And who can argue with that? While Gaza and Israel shoot rockets and hurl insults at each other these days, why not shake hands with someone different from you over a bowl of hummus.
You may not change the world with one action, but you will change your outlook. And that’s a really great place to start.
For all info on the Other Israel Film Festival, which takes place between the 14th and 21st of November, check out their website here.