A Common Communication

Sometimes it is the power of extracurricular events that can ease and solve conflict.  I remember learning about Ancient Greek culture and how major battles and wars would literally come to a halt when it was time for the Olympics.  That is actually true of today too as the Olympics are the only time that some countries will compete in friendly, yet competitive competition.  Another example is Math.  No matter where in the world we are, we all speak the language of math.   We all understand the symbols and can communicate through numbers.  

Music falls under the same category as do sports and math.  Music is a language understood by many.  A high C in the United States in a high C in Palestine, just as a basket is worth 2 points in Israel as it is in China.  Extracurricular activities speak a common language that is easy to learn and can also ease conflicts.  

What the Barenboim-Said Foundation does is amazing.  It is an act of humanitarianism.  It takes two sides that are in conflict and shows that they can are the same, through the study of music.  It is great for the younger generation participating in this, just as the combined school that we looked at earlier, however I feel that for the older generation it has no effect. 

The older generation right now is in control and Jews have been raised hearing about the evils of Palestinians and Palestinians have been raised hearing about the evils of Jews.  Programs like the Barenboim-Said Foundation are like a start up business.  The first few years you may see no results, in fact even lose money.  However once you hit the ground running and say goodbye to all the start-up costs, progress is visible.  

Right now I feel that the Foundation is showing no results to ease the conflict of peace, but since the students they are dealing with are the future, it will soon begin to have an effect.  Even if all it does is has Jewish parents tell their children that Palestinians aren't so bad, and vice-versa, it has done it's job. 

Although it cannot be seen, without a foundation a house cannot be built.  Peace in Jerusalem is going to be a long slow process, but programs like this start are the foundation that will hopefully hold peace one day.