Do you know David Broza? An Israelian songwriter and singer. He did a wonderful project: producing a CD with singers and musicians from Israel and Palestine. This project is documented in a film with the title mentioned above. A must see, find it on Netflix.

The other week I witnessed a concert he gave in Amsterdam together with Mira Awad. Their performance was preceded by the documentary. They are wonderful singers. He is a kind of hybrid between Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger. It was a very moving evening.

People like David and Mira are courageous people. In their songs and in this project they are advocates of  peace and understanding between Israelians and Palestinians.  In Israel nowadays it is very difficult to be a peace advocate, let alone to cooperate with Palestinians to produce a documentary and a CD. You are scolded and called names, even threatened in the (social) media, insulted in social situations and discredited for disloyal behavior. For Mira it is even worse. The fact that she refuses to hate Israel makes her very unpopular with the Palestinian authorities. The Israelian authorities are looking down on Palestinians anyway.

Fortunately they make such beautiful music that on the other hand they have a great  lot of fans. This is why the authorities can’t really harm them. Nevertheless, as I said earlier, it takes courage to do a project like this. What is wonderful, and what we can witness in the documentary, is that peace and understanding, even love,  are developing in the studio. This is how they want to contribute to more harmony in their societies

We know that music can build bridges. There are other examples, like MasterPeace (https://www.masterpeace.org ) and the work of Merlijn Twaalhoven, and maybe many more. And there are more people with the courage of David and Mira, like Ibrahim Issa of the Hope Flowers School.*) As far as David Broza and Mira Awad is concerned, one may wonder if this kind of reconciliation on such a small scale makes any difference in their society. Anyway, this is what is giving them hope, and that in itself seems to me a positive contribution. As David says: “I don’t think I am going to change this world. I am going to change my world, and this makes me happy.” And about social change: “Slow is fast.” And Mira: ” Do not be afraid, the light always prevails, although darkness seems to be ruling right now. Carry you truths proudly.”

To this I have nothing to add.

* https://www.vriendenvanhopeflowers.nl/wordpress/?page_id=295

Disclaimer: I apologize for mistakes in my English. Blogs are cursory – not stuff for correction by a native speaker.