Let's have a discussion.
Performed by Moshe Friedman
Cinematography by Joshua Cahn
Production Assistant: Josh Brickman
Edited by Dina Hill
Produced by Ari Kayser
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Lyrics:
Israel
What other country can claim
That someone will be offended
Just for mentioning its name
A culture, an ideology, a political state
That stands on the precipice of love and hate
Some call it a democratic oasis where justice reigns supreme
And others say it’s a Zionist war machine,
It’s either a struggling underdog or dogmatic regime
Either a nightmare or a 2000-year-old dream
Said with a whisper of hope or a blood-curdling scream
And nothing in between
So who’s right? who is wrong?
Well, for those of you who did not yet already leave
Because you’re waiting for me to confirm what you already believe
To see if I’ll talk about Palestinian widows who grieve
Or rockets dropping on civilians in Tel Aviv…
Maybe I’m being hopelessly naive
But do we really need
One more, one-sided
Pre-decided,
Self-congratulatory
Rant?
Where I can defend my views but you can’t?
Where I present the rosiest picture of what I do
And the ugliest portrayal of you?
Tell me do these echo chambers
Lead us to safety or more dangers?
Does this filter bubble
Bring us to peace or more trouble?
Now it’s not my mission
To say there is no villain
Or take some post-modern position
That we’re not allowed to have an opinion
Full disclosure, I do have views
On who in this war has been more abused
And who is more misrepresented in the news
But I refuse
To be confined
To hear only one side of the green line
To give platform only to those whose beliefs align
With mine.
Our delusions are laughable
Saying our side is the only one that’s rational
And you, you are the passionate radical national
But when we finally encounter someone with a different background
We begin to see that some of our ideas might be unsound
And that bias is almost impossible to break down
Especially after research has found
That people choose facts based on previous beliefs
And not the other way around.
And in this tiny Middle Eastern passage
Between Cairo and Damascus our beliefs have been ravaged
By so much historical baggage
That even innocent people are looked at as savage
And while denying that evil exists is escapism
Thinking everyone from the other side is evil… is racism
Whoever that “other side” is to you.
So allow me to offer a new engagement code
That may not bring peace but will start us down the road.
This is my promise
You may criticize me but at least I’m being honest:
I will not debate the legitimacy of Israel’s location
Nor it's right to exist as a Jewish nation
We may not see eye to eye on that term called occupation
Or on the biggest obstacles to Palestinian self-determination
But for the sake of my own education of intellectual honesty and self-elevation
And for the sake of future generations
One thing I will always be willing to do Is to sit down and have a human conversation.
