Dancin in Jaffa er en israelsk film, om et forsøg på at få sameksistens mellem arabere og jøder gennem dans. Fra Youtube omtale

After decades abroad, renowned ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine returns to his hometown of Jaffa, Israel, nostalgic for the streets of his youth but nervous and dismayed by the strong current of racial animosity that now serves as the norm. Fueled by his belief in dancing’s power to build self-esteem and social awareness, Dulaine brings his popular Dancing Classrooms program to three diverse, Jaffa-based schools where he teaches ballroom basics to the ethnically mixed population of children. Dulaine selects the most focused dancers to train for a citywide competition, pairing Palestinians with Jews, putting many of the children’s and, more pointedly, their families’ beliefs to the test.

As Dulaine’s passion for dance and no-nonsense style of teaching rubs off on the reluctant children, the competition offers the perfect window into their lives. Hilla Medalia’s story beautifully shows these historical archenemies forging an innocent but ultimately meaningful relationship that quickly takes on a much larger significance than what initially meets the eye. Dancing in Jaffa is a sweet and incredibly moving tale filled with moments of truth, poignancy and humor, offering a glimmer of hope in the intractable conflict.

Jeg har ikke undersøgt, hvorledes det går med dansen og samhørigheden i Jaffa, men man kan ikke danse alle problemer væk. Da filmen blev vist i Frankrig, blev den mødt med anti-israelske protester, skriver Times of Israel

Just as Medalia and Israeli Consul General in Marseille Barnea Hassid finished making introductory remarks, some twenty audience members stood up and began shouting anti-Israel slogans. Then they threw stink bombs.

“The police had to remove them by force,” Medalia told The Times of Israel upon her return to Israel on October 8.

The screening of the acclaimed film about Pierre Dulaine, four-time ballroom dancing world champion, returning to his hometown of Jaffa to bring Jewish and Palestinian children together through dance, was moved to another of the theater’s auditoriums.

Hilla Medalia (photo credit: Courtesy)

In the meantime, the protesters, joined by approximately 80 additional people, continued to vocally denounce Israel outside. Because the street was blocked off for security measures, the protesters were made to stand some distance from the building.

Seth Frantzman har set nærmere på den enorme mængde israleske statsstøttede sameksistens projekter, en fredsindustri, som en palæstinenser og finder at de næsten aldrig lykkedes. Frantzman mener at præmissen for initiativerne stort set altid er at den israelske side underlægger sig den palæstinensiske fortælling. Dette skyldes til dels at grupper sammensættes selektivt. For den israelske side handler det tit om idealistisk ønsketænkning og folk der direkte hader Israel. Omvendt deltager palæstinensere kun, hvis de mener det kan gavne den palæstinensiske sag. Eller hvis man kan score nogle kvindelige israelske drømmere.

At the end of the day grass roots coexistence work, like Budo for Peace, Nirkod LaShalom (Dancing for Peace), Soccer for Peace, running for peace, and the rest of the lot cater to small numbers of people who have no effect on wider society.  Year after year, surveys indicate either greater balkanization of Israeli society or at least a great deal of dislike of “the other,” for instance the Israel Democracy Index survey found that almost 50% of both Arabs and Jews don’t want each other as neighbors.

Are these groups just a cynical “industry” for the individuals who run them to make money and have something to do?  This is probably not the case; the individuals care deeply about their work, but it is obvious that there is a tendency for each group to be a “one man band,” catering to some tiny niche.  The fact that so many are supported by outside donors, such as foreign governments, and that few if any are run by Palestinians, means this is an artificial system that has no local roots.  The Peres Center 2012 bulletin talks about “building bridges” and “strengthening relationships” but it has been beating a dead horse for 15 year of this work.  Where are the bridges?  Where is the progress?

Real Coexistence Can’t Be Forced

For coexistence to ever be meaningful, it would have to build several real bridges.  First, it would have to not only be a case of Israelis supporting Palestinian nationalism and Palestinians supporting Palestinian nationalism.  It would have to really challenge Palestinians and hold them to the same accountability as Israeli society in terms of encouraging progressive and liberal values – to say nothing of recognizing the legitimacy of Jewish nationalism in the Land of Israel, not just “sorrow for the Holocaust”.  Second, it would have to appeal to not only secular Jews on the left and Palestinians who are nationalists.  Third, it would need to have indigenous Palestinian support and funding from Palestinian backers and Palestinians playing an integral part in running the organizations.

If Palestinians aren’t stepping forward to start “Dabka for Peace” or “embroidery for peace,” the situation isn’t going to improve.  Coexistence work should not be a cover for radical anti-Israel views, such as one “coexistence” activist who compared the hardship of waiting at a checkpoint in a Palestinian bus to the mass murder of Israeli civilians on a bus, in an essay now removed from online called “a tale of two buses.”  Blowing people up, shooting them, sniper fire, “resistance” and tunnels; none of that has anything to do with coexistence.