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Oct. 19, 2007
Performing for peace
U of M researcher evaluates Jerusalem project.
RHONDA SPIVAK
Jessica Senehi, associate director of the Arthur V. Mauro Centre
for Peace and Justice at the University of Manitoba, was in Israel
recently to evaluate a unique theatre project designed to foster
reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.
The project, entitled Jerusalem Stories Performance Exhibit Dialogue
(JSPED), was initiated by American writer, storyteller and conflict
resolution practitioner Carol Grosman.
"JSPED is designed to harness the power of personal stories
in a way that enables Israelis and Palestinians to empathize with
each other," said Senehi, who has a PhD in social sciences
from Syracuse University, and is a leading scholar in the field
of storytelling and peace building.
In 2002, during the second intifada (uprising), Grosman launched
the Jerusalem project by interviewing Jewish and Palestinian residents
in Jerusalem who had been personally affected by the conflict. To
date, she has recorded the stories of approximately 70 residents.
One of the people that Grosman interviewed was Michael Simon, an
Israeli who was trying to rebuild his life after his fiancé
was killed in a bombing attack at the Hebrew University in 2001.
She also interviewed Samir al Judi, a Palestinian salesman who picked
up the tricks of his trade at age nine in order to provide for his
family, after his Jerusalem home was demolished in the wake of the
Six Day War.
Grosman chose six stories, three from Jewish residents and three
from Palestinian residents, and developed them into a play. She
co-wrote the script with Palestinian playwright Mohammed Thaher,
who also has experience in using theatre as a tool of reconciliation.
Grosman's play was performed both in Arabic, by Palestinian actors
in East Jerusalem, and in Hebrew, by Jewish actors in West Jerusalem.
Following each performance, which usually drew around 100 viewers,
audience members discussed the play with the creators and performers.
"In one performance, before a Palestinian audience at the American
Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian actress portrayed
a Jewish mother who lost her son [in a terrorist attack]. In a performance
in Hebrew in West Jerusalem before a Jewish audience, a Jewish actor
portrayed a Palestinian uncle who had lost his nephew [in the conflict],"
described Senehi.
According to Senehi, Grosman's project is on the cutting edge and
has succeeded in creating a virtual dialogue for the theatre audience,
enabling each side in the conflict to humanize the other.
Grosman chose to have parallel performances of her play because
she believes this can be a tool for re-building relationships. "I
think there is a need for Israelis and Palestinians to engage at
a safe distance in order to draw people who may be anxious about
face-to-face inter-group meetings. On a practical level, meeting
separately engages audiences who speak either only Hebrew or only
Arabic," said Grosman.
According to Senehi, this is the only project of its kind in the
world. "I think it is important to create public spaces where
people hear each other's stories.... [Grosman's project] allows
cross-culture sharing to occur during a time when there have been
sustained hostilities, and a lot of people – even many who
have been working their whole lives to build peace – feel pessimistic
and discouraged," said Senehi.
Senehi, who was the lead evaluator of the play, worked with an Israeli
evaluator Dr. Maya Kahanoff, and a Palestinian evaluator, Nabil
Shibly, who work at the Hebrew University and Al-Quds University,
respectively.
"As evaluators we conducted a survey to gauge reactions to
the performance. It was clear that people in the audience were very
engaged in the play and they were emphatic. The discussion afterward
was respectful. Audience members said that the play was important
and should be shown again. Overwhelmingly, people wanted to see
this project continue," said Senehi.
Although Senehi does not speak either Hebrew or Arabic, she was
able to understand the play because she had seen it so many times
and because she had colleagues who provided translations. "In
a way, it was good that there was no professional translation, as
it forced people to help each other translate. It helped build the
bonds of fellowship," she said.
Senehi is of the view that there are a lot of different things that
can be done with this project, suggesting that the play be taken
to schools to educate children. Grosman's production, added Senehi,
"can also serve as a model for other regions with inter-group
conflicts."
Senehi hopes to continue her involvement with Jerusalem stories
and to visit Jerusalem again. "I would definitely like to follow
this project along," she said.
Rhonda Spivak is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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