The story is straightforward: an Egyptian police orchestra gets lost in Israel for a day, when they come to play at the inauguration of a new Arab cultural center. They accidentally end up in the bleak desert town of Bet Hatikvah instead of bustling Petah Tikvah. There the locals help them out and put them up for the night. Most of the movie shows the bright blue uniformed Egyptians interacting with the locals, who all have their own problems.

The most complex character is Tawfiq’s the band leaders. It is quite an amazing process to learn more and more of his layers. We start off by not liking him because of his authoritative rulership style. After all, he enforces keeping up appearances even under dire circumstances. He also does not let the soft clarinet player to conduct, despite decades of hoping to do so. But in the heat of the night we slowly learn through conversation his personal tragedies of losing his son and wife. He blames (probably rightfully) himself for the first that caused the second. Meanwhile he acts as a mensch when with his seductive hostess. The realizations of the night helps him to show passion and understanding to the young stud of the band, who he earlier reprimanded heavily. Then at the very end of movie we see and hear him doing something quite unexpected, which shows puts his whole being in an entirely new light. That last scene not just shows him from an astonishing angle, but also makes ask question to what extent can we know him or anybody.

One aspect of the movie really surprised me. The town in the middle of the desert reminded me so much of the eastern European apartment blocks. The architecture was monotone and the inhabitants were beyond despair. It was depicted as little to do in terms of jobs or activities. There was some, but in general the level of stimulus the natives were exposed to was minimal. That includes sounds. I have been living in cities in all my life with only short excursions to nature. But I rarely experienced the kind of silence this movie projected. I am talking about the abandonment of the convention of having background music or noise at every moment of a movie experience. This extenuated the deafening silence these people lived in. In some cases the silence reflected the emptiness of their lives. In other cases it covered their pain. But out of the pain (of a marriage in rambles) the long-awaited overture of a concerto was born. Out of pain new forms of relations were born.

From what I wrote you may not suspect that this is a comedy. It is, with plenty of little inside jokes making fun of the similarities of the different groups. At the same time it does not cover up the political discomfort Egyptians might feel when they have to look at a picture of an Israeli tank I Egyptian territory, while having lunch. I take that back, they do cover it with a police hat. That’s the whole point it is present yet covered as non-important.

I want to close with three details/images that stuck in my mind. The actress playing Dina (Ronit Elkabetz), the friendly and lively restaurateur, reminded me so much of Kate Winslet that it was distractig at some times. The scene where the shy Israeli boy is taught by the not-so-shy Egyptian how to court an ugly duck girl is the sweetest I have seen in a long time. Finally the segment, where three of the musicians, who we have not learned much about earlier, perform a song in the middle of the night in an empty bus-station was not connected in any way to the rest of the story. But it was still an integral and beautiful, part of the movie.

When Tawfiq conducts his hands move like it would be the most important thing in the world. And there and then it is. I liked this mindful movie that helped me to slow down and remind me how to relax after years of being busy with school and work at the same time. Maybe the memory of what is really important will linger on in me for a while

This Muslim-Jewish collaboration has been an incredible and challenging journey – and I hope you feel compelled by our vision and how far we have to come to support us towards completion.

(The new movie is referred to in the article as Jihad for Love, while at imdb.com it shows up as Islam, my Love.)

[The event] welcomed seventy Jews and Muslims from Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, the UK and France who are involved in or interested in dialogue at a community level. Organisations represented included the European Muslim Network, the International Council of Jewish Women (ICJW) and Islamic Relief.

The article provides a brief interview of the event, including the organizations involved, the names of the speakers and their topics.
As CEJI Director Robin Sclafani explained, Jewish-Muslim dialogue initiatives are valuable not only for creating respect and understanding between communities but also as “a source of inspiration for intercultural relations as a whole and a demonstration of solidarity in the fight against all forms of racism”.

Project TRIUMPH is a grassroots effort to bring Arab and Jewish teenagers together in the spirit of collaboration to build a shared vision for a peaceful future. Already in its 2nd year, this intensive 12-month program guides young leaders in achieving understanding, respect, fellowship, and coexistance in their region of the world.

Today, as a daughter of Khaled Abdelwahhab, I extend my hand as a sincere and truthful bridge to my Jewish brothers and sisters. Together, we can open space for dialogue and encounter between our peoples.

From the Arab American News:

On April 3, someone set off an explosive device outside the Ben Weider Jewish Community Centre in Montreal. Fortunately, there were no damages or injuries. The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) denounced the attack and called on anyone with information to contact the police.

From News Blaze:

When the mosque serving the Islamic Society of Schuylkill County in Pennsylvania was damaged by fire April 11, Muslim families immediately were offered a space for prayer services by the Jewish community in the nearby town of Pottsville.

Now this is what I call being good neighbors. Of course I would have preferred if reaching out would have happened under better circumstances.

Inspired by a challenge from Oglethorpe University‘s president, Lawrence M. Schall, students have created three faith-based student organizations in six months. And this first Jewish president in the institution’s 170 year-old history was asked by student leaders to act as campus advisor in the newly formed Muslim Student Association.

The university has 1000 students. At the first joint event of the newly (re-)created Jewish, Catholic and Muslim student associations 70 people “gathered to share traditional Passover dishes and watch the movie Muhammad: The Legacy of a Prophet.”

Quite inspiring.