On a warm California summer
evening, August 1, 2003 the Wine Country Film Festival hosted 200 Jews,
Palestinians, and supportive others in Sonoma County's largest-ever step toward
Arab-Jewish relationship-building
The newspaper titled its article: EXTENDING THE
BRANCH -- The Wine Country Film Festival charts its own road map to
peace.
The women, men, and youth attendees
at the beautiful Kunde Vineyard were each presented with symbolic, freshly-cut
olive branches.
There was olive oil tasting, delicious Middle Eastern
foods, and spirit-raising music from Sonoma's own newly-formed Salaam-Shalom
Middle East Peace Band, whose convenor is Lorraine Segal (
LSegal@WebPerception.com ).
At a stunning moment, a Palestinian and Jew initiated
the release of dozens of white doves into the late afternoon sky.
As the sun began setting, the Jewish-Palestinian
Living Room Dialogue Group of San Mateo then offered a one-hour panel
presentation including audience participation.
Then Festival Director Stephen Ashton came to the
stage to gift two olive trees. The recipients were Palestinian panelist, Joy
Totah Hilden, and Israeli panelist, Irit Weir.
In a powerful gesture, the Jew and Arab then exchanged
their trees and embraced, and later took the trees home for their separate
Dialogues to plant, in Napa and in Berkeley.
Writer-Director Hanna Elias ( hannalatif@hotmail.com )
and Producer Kamran Elahian ( Kamran@gc-partners.com ) culminated the night
with their exquisite film The Olive Harvest, a love story that includes a
metaphor about two peoples authentic, abiding love for the same beautiful
land. More about the film is at http://www.theoliveharvest.com/ .
Hanna and Kamran stayed with the audience into the
night with heartfelt exchanges about the film, the two peoples, and our shared
future.
Then everyone went home, many to continue deepening in
their understanding and relationships.
Photos are on the Web at https://pix.sfly.com/nSKWH1-5
.
It was a day of music, film, food, generosity, and
ceremony -- all around people seeking a very high road together.
You could do this where you live.
--L&L