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Borders-Crossing Comedy Team to Tour Jerusalem 15:32 Jan 17, '07 / 27 Tevet 5767by Gil Zohar Did you hear the groaner about the Israeli, American and PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazi -American comedians headlining a series of shows in Jerusalem? Their three gigs, set for January 24, 25 and 31, are no joke. While the comedians may not be able to laugh their way to a Middle East peace breakthrough, they can at least be credited with trying to inject some humor into the area.The Israeli-PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazi Comedy Tour will stop at Jerusalem`s Syndrome club on Hillel Street on Wednesday, January 24, the American Colony Hotel on Nablus Road on Thursday, January 25, and Hebrew Union College on King David Street on Wednesday, January 31.Headlining the English-language shows are Chicago-born PA-American writer and comedian Ray Hanania, African-American and Jewish comedian Aaron Freeman, and two US-born Israeli comedians, Charley Warady and Yisrael Campbell. The emcee is native Israeli comedian and TV personality Shachar Chason.Hanania is a columnist for the Tel Aviv daily Yediot Acharonot's English-language website ynetnews.com. He has been featured in and written for media such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Today Show, CBS, CNN and ABC.“I don`t think humor or comedy by itself resolves conflicts,” says Hanania. “But it can help to change moods and attitudes. Having a PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazi and Israelis on stage together sends out a clear message that we shouldn`t lose sight of the fact that PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazis and Israelis do get along and that we have much in common.”Freeman is a standup comedian, popular columnist, and radio commentator. His views on being a black convert to Judaism have made him a hit all across America, from colleges to Jewish groups.Campbell is an Orthodox resident of Jerusalem, but he is more than a standard issue follower of religion. His one-man show, "It`s Not In Heaven," is a work of pure humor. Campbell was born Roman Catholic, and his show charts his course to where he is today, having made aliyah six years ago. He performs his show all over the world, appearing recently in London, and has toured the United States, with regular performances in Israel. The Philadelphia Inquirer described his show as "fits of laughter."Warady headlined comedy clubs and colleges all across the US, appearing on both NBC and Comedy Central, before immigrating to Israel a decade ago. He has continued his career in Israel, performing in English as part of the Off The Wall Comedy series, targeting every aspect of life and politics in Israel. He runs the blog and podcast Israelisms.Warady kibbitzes, “We will not have accomplished anything from this comedy show if we accomplish anything less than total peace and understanding in the Middle East, along with a two-state solution with the dilemma of Jerusalem solved.”But Warady is realistic in his conclusions. “Are we setting our sights a bit high? Perhaps. Do we think it`s possible? Absolutely not,” he says. “Therefore, if we were to set the bar a bit lower, we`re just going to put on a very funny show that everyone is going to love.”The Israeli-PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazi Comedy Tour is co-sponsored by Corner Prophets, an initiative that promotes co-existence between Israelis and Arabs through the creative arts.For information about the shows, contact Warady at [email protected] or by phone at 052-240-0803.
Ray Hanania Hanania's Jerusalem connectionRay Hanania recounts family history, father's attachment to Jerusalem Published: 01.22.07, 10:50 My father loved Jerusalem. I know it from the collection of writings he kept that survived over the years. He was born there sometime around the turn of the Century. His family lived in Romema “off Jaffa Road.” His father, Hanna Mousa, was a salesman who traveled sometimes to fairs and expositions around the world. My dad had five brothers and two sisters. His oldest brothers Mousa and Yousef were his inspiration. And he had younger brothers Edward, Khamis and Farid. Sometime in the early 1920s, his oldest brother Mousa immigrated to the United States. Like many immigrants, he easily found work and excelled as a chef. My dad worked at the Jerusalem Post Office and went to school at night studying law. We had a relative, Hanania Hanania, who was a judge and who inspired many not just in my family but among all those who lived in Jerusalem. He was a very fair person. The new British occupiers were as tough on Palestinians as they were on the Jewish immigrants who trickled in during the early years. But they were far better than the Ottoman Turks, the Muslim dynasty of oppression and remnants of an empire in severe decay. But tragedy struck in April 1926. Yousef, the second oldest son, was swimming at a quarry near Jerusalem. I don’t have the exact location as places in Palestine were often referred to by location rather than a street address or intersection. For some unexplained reason, Yousef found himself in trouble and he called out to people on the shoreline for help. He drowned that day. According to the British Mandate Police reports at the time and notes my father kept in his collection, Yousef’s calls were ignored. Arabs thought he was a Jew. Jews thought he was an Arab. Within a few months, my father decided to leave that troubled land and join his brother in Chicago. The British Mandate Government gave my father a Provisional Palestinian Passport that identified him as a “Palestinian,” a fact that some insist on ignoring. Palestine was more than just a word. It had meaning for my father and his people, the same intensity that the name held for Jews who fled anti-Semitism in Europe and the growing Nazi movement. He left behind his father, mother, sisters and remaining brothers to find a new life. Next year in JerusalemMy father enjoyed living in Chicago and he traveled often home to see his family. My father got his American citizenship without trouble and always wrote back to his family that America was a great place to live. Where “people were free to think and pursue their dreams and live without fear of oppression,” he wrote in one paper. Even before the Imperial Japanese air force attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, my dad and his brother decided to do something to help their new adopted country. Although the United States had not yet formally entered the war, many Americans were already enlisting. My dad and his brother enlisted, too. Dad was assigned to the 5th Army where he served as a Middle East specialist later assigned to the O.S.S., which after the war became the C.I.A. His brother was assigned to the Navy, because the military officers thought that maybe someone named “Moses” could part the seas. They served through the end of the war, more than four years, my dad fighting the Nazis, my uncle fighting the Japanese Imperial fleet. And then there was al-Nakba, the Palestinian tragedy, in 1948. Even before Israel had declared itself a state, the Palestinian and Jewish undergrounds were battling across Palestine. The Partition was just a meaningless thing outsiders were imposing on all. During the pre-state fighting, most of the Palestinians in West Jerusalem fled, just as most Jews fled East Jerusalem. My father’s family found themselves in a refugee camp in Jordan where they stayed for several years. In the 1950s, they immigrated to Chicago. My mother’s family lived in Bethlehem. Though the fighting was always near, they remained there for many years. Although wars continue to wage, life goes on. But my dad never forgot Jerusalem. We would always remember the city at dinner, wishing one day he could return. Dad would tell us that although he left of his own free will to make money to help his family, the idea that he could never return after the war was painful, but toughened his desire to go back. He was never permitted to enter West Jerusalem while it was under Israeli control, just as Jews were not permitted to enter East Jerusalem when it was under Jordanian control. It was an unending war. An Armistice is not the same as a ceasefire. Dad died in 1970, never seeing his city again. That’s why I feel so lucky. I’ve been there many times, because I have an American passport. Most of my cousins and relatives cannot return or even visit. Dad’s relatives lived in the Old City, like his cousin who is a pharmacist. Still others lived south in Givat Hanania. Growing up after my father died, I met only one other person who loved Jerusalem as much as my dad. I was a young writer and I was invited to “debate” the Arab Israeli conflict with Abba Eban, who was then Israel’s foreign minister. It was less of a debate and more of a discussion though on the national public television station at the time. Eban was very articulate. And I admired that. We engaged each other and I remember asking him why he could come and go through Jerusalem even though he was born in South Africa, yet my father, who was born in Jerusalem, could never go back after 1948. Eban responded by telling me how to properly pronounce my name with the hard “cha” sound. And that it was a Hebrew word that meant “God has been gracious,” although I know there are other translations. Despite the challenges that separated us, we got along. And I even got Eban’s autograph. He told me I was the first Palestinian to ask him to autograph one of his books. He even said he would let me “return” to Jerusalem. And I almost took him up on it. Palestinians and Israelis have so much history together. We can either denigrate each other’s rights in the hopes of pretending to make ourselves better, or, we can respect those histories and someday find a way to live together. I’d love to move back there one day. As my dad would say, “Next year, insha’Allah, in Jerusalem.” For everyone, I hope. Ray Hanania was named the Best Ethnic American Columnist 2006/2007 by the New America Media. He can be reached at www.hanania.com