Can Palestinians and Israelis come together to make peace? It’s a difficult question to find an answer to, but filmmaker Harvey Stein explores this difficult but important topic in his new film “A Third Way.”
By Ray Hanania
covering Chicago
City Hall
(1976-1992)
I met Israeli filmmaker Harvey Stein during my foray into the contentious world of Israeli-Palestinian peace in 2007 when he decided to do a documentary on the use of humor and comedy to break through the hatred, anger and divisions that separated Palestinians from Israelis.
In the past right years, Stein has continued to produce many videos and documentaries including one that followed the life of an Israeli settler Rabbi named Menachem Froman. Froman was unusual and strived to touch the good in both Israelis and Palestinians, breaking taboos and setting himself up as an example of how the two people could come together.
Rabbi Froman had many friends among Palestinians and among Israelis. Rabbi Froman knew the answer to the conflict, and answer that continues to elude many Palestinians and Israelis today: Rabbi Froman said we don’t have to agree with everything the other says, but we need to understand him/her – the only way to do that is meeting.
He is right.
Stein’s documentary touches on aspects of Rabbi Froman’s efforts. Stein is showing the documentary at film festivals around the world, most recently in Copenhagen, although not enough Arab film festivals have included it because of its underlying message of “normalization.”
But I think the documentary reflects the purity of Stein’s life and heart. His intentions have not only been good, they have been consistent. Froman (Menaham, Fruman) died in March 2013. Click for info on his obituary.
Here’s the trailer from the documentary. I hope you enjoy it. And if you do, maybe you can “Like” his documentary Facebook page by clicking here.
Here’s a column I wrote back in April 2014 when Stein began his documentary. You can support Harvey and you can support his documentary. But most importantly, you can support Palestinian-Israeli peace.
It isn’t a dream. It can be a reality.
You can reach Harvey Stein and invite the showing of the documentary by clicking here.
Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.
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