Political Gastronomica : August 2007

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August 23, 2007

Israelis and Palestinians: Bridging the Divide

In my travels, I have met some very interesting people - some of which are looking to address problems that have have a serious impact on life in this world. Dafna Tal is one of them. Dafna is a photographer from israel that has been frustrated with the division between Israelis and Palestinians and has been working to make a difference in the lives of others.

The following press release of her upcoming event in New York is her way of making things happen. Consider this a personal invitation from Dafna.

Israelis & Palestinians: Bridging the Divide
www.IsraeliPalestinianProject.com
2707 Palisade Avenue
Union City, New Jersey 07087
Phone: 917-292-3032
info@IsraeliPalestinianProject.com

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dafna Tal
Phone: 917-292-3032

Bridging the Divide - a unique fundraising party that brings together Arab and Jewish cultures under the same roof

New York, NY, August 23rd 2007 - "Bridging the Divide" is a unique fundraising event taking place during the Muslim and Jewish holidays Ramadan and The Ten Days of Repentance, on September 15th, 2007 at 6:30 pm, at "Laila" lounge, 113 north 7th street, Williamsburg, New York, 11211 ( http://www.lailalounge.com/ Mouse, event manager: 347-463-9590). Admission for the event is $25, and $20 for students with valid ID.

The event is intended to support the project "Israelis & Palestinians: Bridging the Divide." This project aims to bridge across the divide between Israeli Jews and Palestinians through the documentation and the sharing of stories demonstrating successful collaborations between individuals of both societies. The stories present attainable prospects for which to aim, and serve as an invitation for people to increase and create more "positive stories" of their own.

The fundraising party will be a celebration of cultures through art, music, dancing and food. It will start with a Multi-Ethnic Fast-Breaking feast contributed by "Le Souk" restaurant (traditional Ramadan dishes, traditional Jewish Rosh-Hashana dishes and Moroccan food), and a slide show of the collaborative project "Challenging Walls," by the Israeli artist Ruthe Zuntztz and the Palestinian artist Steve Sabella (http://www.challengingwalls.eu/).

The event will continue with two music shows: The band "Utter Space" will be playing traditional Arabic compositions embellished with electronica, and Hans Utter, a musicologist will talk about the history of Arabic music and it's influence on western music culture. The band "Asefa" will be performing music from the Jewish Diaspora, exploring Klezmer and North African styles of Jewish music. Samuel Thomas, an ethno-musicologist, will talk about shared music cultures between Jews, Arabs and Turks throughout North Africa and the Ottoman lands. The event will also include a belly dancing show, and will end with music and dancing hosted by DJ Roy.

There will be a professional photographer on hand to document the event.


Posted by Sanford Dickert at 10:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 17, 2007

Sen. McCain does ashes and saccloth on the Daily Show

Sen John McCain Got home this evening and turned on the TiVo to watch the Daily Show tonight and watched Sen. McCain chatting with John Stewart. And, funny thing is, I have almost the same commentary from my former post.

Let me start with: All I can say is, "OMG!" What the? It was a strange and surreal friendly banter between Stewart and Senator McCain. I have not known many Naval officers in my life, but the verbal engagement style was strangely familiar. Haven't I seen this performance before? Almost down to the hand motions and the vocal intonations.

This time (he said it was his tenth), McCain was a lot more congenial - I guess when you have dropped in the polls, you come back to earth with your thoughts and convictions. This time around, we ignored the Iraq issue and had a nice talk about the Iowa Straw Poll and other candidates. It was a "nice" interview, definitely a more entertaining one. But, when will we see other candidates show up and give their real opinions?

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