Last night, I performed at Gotham Comedy Club in New York City for a wonderful organization called, Seeds of Peace.
I was absolutely blown away by what this particular organization attempts to accomplish and does so with meaningful and undeniably optimistic results.
Basically, Arabs and Jews who are not even allowed to talk to each other where they come from, live together in a camp. From what I understand, a Palestinian for example, would get into a debate with the opposition who is Jewish. Here's what makes it fascinating; the Palestinian will argue for Jews and the Jewish contingent will argue for the Palestinians.
What this does is help everyone concerned see the other side and instead of being brainwashed by hatred and unnecessary violence towards each other, they begin to feel and understand that the only way to resolve any aggression is through peace and humanizing each other's existence.
I have to say, I was touched by this incredible idea which is run by a very young, soft-spoken and optimistic man named, Jacob Toll.
The comedians were wonderful. They were Jewish, Arabs, Jordanians, Egyptians, Indians and myself a Greek/Australian. Another interesting thread was that listening to Arabs talk about Arabs, Jews talk about Jews, Jews talk about blacks, blacks talking about Indians, Indians talking about Australians, I realized that we all have the same habits and idiosyncrasies.
From a writer's standpoint, it was interesting to see that all the jokes about a certain ethnicity fit snugly when applied to a completely different ethnicity.
The one most incredible thing I took away from the event and couldn't stop thinking about on the train was the realization that we don't have to wait for our politicians or people in power to make things happen. We can do it on our own.
Seeds of Peace, you're an incredible organization and I'd gladly support you in the future.
Thanks for trying to save the world... and succeeding!
Here is their website. I encourage you to support them in any which way you can.
1 comment:
Jim,
Last night you made me laugh. Today, you make me smile. Thanks so much for the jokes and the support. As a former counselor at Seeds of Peace's camp, I couldn't agree with you more. The bravery that those teenagers display at Camp and, in many ways more importantly, back home is inspiring to everyone they touch.
All the best,
Dan
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