OTHER VIEWS

An Intricate Puzzle

KEVIN SCHWARTZ
Special Commentary

Otis zeld, Maine
he wake-up bell rings each
morning as it did last sum-
mer, but something is dif-
ferent because of who is at
camp to hear it and who is not.
Since the inception of Seeds of
Peace in 1993, Israeli, Egyptian and
Palestinian delegations have attended
each summer's two three-week sessions
in Maine. They have stood as formida-
ble pieces of the intricate puzzle of
nations and ethnic groups that takes
shape each summer.
That is, until this summer. One
major puzzle piece is missing. For the
first time, there is no official
Palestinian delegation. They are not
here to wake up to the sound of the
bell. They are not here to participate
in the camp's coexistence project,
whether in a mediated discussion or
on the soccer field.
There is no Ahmed, Youseff or Fadel,
three Palestinian campers from my
bunk last summer. There are no first-
time campers from Jenin, Ramallah or
Gaza to arrive at camp with their fear

Kevin Schwartz of West Bloomfield is

entering the master's degree program
in Middle Eastern studies at Harvard
University in Cambridge, Mass. He
is a graduate of Hillel Day School of
Metropolitan Detroit, Bloomfield Hills
Andover High School and Columbia
University in New York City. He
studied Arabic and Hebrew at Hebrew
University in Jerusalem during his
junior undergraduate year abroad.

of coexisting with Israelis hidden
behind their bright faces.
A few Palestinian campers returned
from last year, but it was their own
courage that brought them here, not the
support of the Palestinian Authority.
Yet, as a 23-year-old counselor in my
second year at Seeds of Peace, I am not
bothered by these realities. To focus on
the supposed shortcomings of this
summer at Seeds of Peace would
undermine the group's message, one
we also teach the campers: Take note
of the past and even learn from it, but
do not dwell on it, in comparison to
the present situation or otherwise.
It was certainly not dwelling on the
past that brought together the late
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
and Palestinian Authority leader Yasser
Arafat on the White House lawn in
1993 in front of a slew of Middle
Eastern youth wearing green Seeds of
Peace T-shirts.

Puzzle Takes Shape

I would rather write of how this sum-
mer has taken shape rather than how
it has not. Besides, each summer is a
distinct puzzle whose shape is deter-
mined well beyond the presence or
absence of one specific delegation.
For the first time, delegations from
the Balkans, India and Pakistan trav-
eled to Maine to participate.
Delegations from Croatia, Serbia and
Bosnia, which included Bosnian-Serbs,
Bosnian-Croats and Bosnian-Muslim
campers, were in attendance during
the first session. The second session
will include delegations from
Macedonia and Kosovo.
My bunk consisted of campers from

Holocaust As Entertainment

L

et us assume that some
Broadway theater in New
York or elsewhere were to
announce the opening of a
comedy, satire or musical about the
Oklahoma City bombing.
What would be the reaction of the
country? Probably one of outrage —
and rightly so.
The country, as a whole, would pre-
sumably and justifiably ask how could
anyone produce a comedy on such a
mind-boggling tragedy? It would be a

Berl Falbaum is a former political

8/24
2001

40

reporter, an author and a Farmington
Hills public relations executive. He
teaches journalism part time at
Wayne State University in Detroit.

5 Coming Together

t This summer's first session
also contained a record
number of campers from
the Middle East who had
• r ► -a. participated in Seeds of
Peace before. In my bunk,
there were four returning
campers. There were Sam
and Peter from Portland,
Maine, Mostafa from Egypt
and Ariel from Israel.
All four were instrumen-
Kevin Schwartz with campers at Seeds of Peace
tal in helping to provide a
Camp in Maine.
healthy dynamic for the
bunk as a whole. During
bunk activities, it was they
India, Pakistan, the United States,
who
helped
direct the conversation
Egypt, Jordan and Israel. There were
through
either
humor or seriousness.
Muslims and Hindus, Jewish-Israelis
Having
once
been
new campers them-
and Arab-Israelis. But, at some point,
selves,
they
held
a
heightened
aware-
nationality, ethnicity and personal
ness
of
the
awkwardness
that
some
of
preferences were forgotten and my
the
new
campers
go
through
during
campers identified each other accord-
their first days at camp.
ing to their personalities and talents:
They also helped ease the tension
athletes, musicians and comedians.
among
some of the new campers who
At the beginning of the session, our
arrived
with similar prejudices that
nightly conversations in the bunk were
they,
the
returning campers, had shed
always grounded in a game called
the
previous
summer. Sam has even
"High-Low," in which each individual
continued
to
promote the unity of my
tells of his high and low experience of
bunk
well
after
the end of the first ses-
the day. But as the session continued,
sion
by
creating
a Web site dedicated to
the conversation began to focus more
keeping
the
bunk's
members in touch.
heavily on the bunk: How should our
No
matter
how
strange
and different
bunk influence the camp on the fol-
the
wake-up
bell
may
sound
without
lowing day? What is our role in the
the
Palestinian
delegation
around
to
camp as a whole?
hear
it,
those
at
camp
must
work
with-
It is noteworthy that by the end of
in the order of things as they exist. It is
the session not only had my bunk
certainly more difficult to complete a
stopped focusing on each other's dif-
puzzle without first beginning with the
ferent nationalities, but also had unit-
key pieces — but it is not impossible.
ed with the adjacent bunk to form one
It just takes a little more effort and
cohesive unit, Bunk 36, as we chose to
concentration.
❑
call ourselves.

Where's The Outrage?

valid and troubling question.
A Trivialization
Yet, a pop culture has devel-
Thus, the Holocaust is being
oped in our society, making
trivialized with pop culture
the Holocaust subject not
treatment in a medium
only of movies but musicals
designed primarily, if not
and even a cabaret show.
exclusively, for entertainment
There has been no criticism;
and that's true whether it's
indeed these shows have been
Schindler's List, Life Is Beautiful
greeted by record crowds and
or The Producers.
BE RL
with some passionate and
As Marshall McLuhan, the
FALB AUM
favorable reviews, despite the
celebrated communications
Comm unity
fact that critics have acknowl-
theorist, stated many years ago,
Vie ws
edged that some of these
the medium is the message.
efforts may be "insensitive"
There is no escaping the truth.
and "offensive."
The objectives of a movie theater
It used to be that if something was
are different from those of a muse-
"insensitive" and "offensive" or %rude"
um. A documentary is not the same
— by definition — it was to be con-
as a Hollywood production. A the-
demned.
ater stage does not equate to a lec-

ture hall or a college classroom.
The entire dynamics and language
of the theater are different from edu-
cational mediums.
For those who disagree, listen to the
discussions in lobbies of movie house
and theaters. The first question gener-
ally asked is, "Did you enjoy or-like
the movie, play?" Next, "The acting
was superb." Or, "The scenery was
beautiful, but I didn't like [fill in]."
Such language is almost obscene when
one considers the subject being discussed
is the slaughter of six million Jews.
Or, a one reviewer who hailed The
Producers wrote, "It was offensive
but I really felt good leaving the

HOLOCAUST on page 43

