Written and performed by Noa
Baum
Directed by Loren Niemi
Place: Beth Hagath,
Ein Karem
Date: Thursday, January 13, 8:00 P.M.
Noa
Baum has been teaching and performing
for audiences of all ages in hundreds
of schools, libraries, community centers
and Jewish congregations since 1982.
Born and raised in Israel, living in
the USA since 1990, she holds an MA in
Educational Theater from New York University
and BFA in Theater from Tel Aviv University.
Her audio recording "Far Away And Close
To Home" is a Parents' Choice Award Winner.
Noa lives in the Washington DC metropolitan
area and is a member of the National
Storytelling Network.
Loren
Niemi is a long-time storyteller, consultant,
teacher, performer, director of other
performers, and the co-author of "Inviting
the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult
Stories". He lives in Stillwater, Minnesota
and works around the country with individuals
and organizations to "Give voice to
their dreams and build community." He
can be reached at: 651-271-6349 or
niemistory@aol.com
"An enemy is one whose story we
have not heard".
Gene Knudsen-Hoffman
I
believe that once you really get to know
someone and hear their story – they can
no longer be your enemy. This performance
stems from my experience as an Israeli
having a dialogue and friendship with
a Palestinian woman. It was not an easy
process. Building trust took many years.
We spend hours arguing and disagreeing,
struggling with the voices we grew up
with, the narratives we believed were
The Truth. We learned that a little compassion
can go a long way. It is my sincere hope
that this evening will encourage you
to seek out “the other” and listen to
their story. I am grateful for the faith
and trust put in me by my friend and
her family (who for personal and political
reasons wishes to remain anonymous at
this point in time), to our children
who were “the excuse” in the beginning,
and to my mother, my first storyteller.
“You must be the change you wish
to see in the world”.
Gandhi
The
struggle between the Israelis
and the Palestinians is one of the most
enduring and explosive of all the world's
conflicts. It has its roots in the historic
claim to the land, which lies between the
eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea
and the Jordan River. For the Palestinians
the last 100 years have brought colonization,
expulsion and military occupation, followed
by a long and difficult search for self
determination and for coexistence with
the nation they hold responsible for their
suffering and loss. For the Jewish people
of Israel, the return to the land of their
forefathers after centuries of persecution
around the world has not brought peace
or security. They have faced many crises
as their neighbors have sought to wipe
their country off the map.
The history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is elastic; it changes dramatically depending on who is telling it and where they start the story. Therefore, it is important to note that a historic timeline of events concerning this conflict is always difficult to present in an objective manner.
(Excerpts from the web site listed below)
These
link offer historical timelines of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
• www.pbs.org/pov/pov2001/promises/timeline.html
To book this or other storytelling programs
call:
(301)-587-3558
or
noabaum@earthlink.net
www.noabaum.com