'One Wish For Iran, Love Israel' Proposes New Beginnings (VIDEO)

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

What do Israelis want for Iranians? Three American filmmakers, Joseph Shamash, Andrew Lustig and Jeff Handel, asked people on the streets of Jerusalem what they would wish Iran's new president, Hasan Rouhani if they had the chance, and the responses were strikingly human.

People responded in Arab, Hebrew, and Farsi, and though the wishes ranged from personal to political, they all came from a place of social concern and compassion.

One said, "God should help you, because we all need this," while another commented, "Stop with the uranium!"

The filmmakers previously made a movie called "One Wish Jerusalem," simply asking people, "If you had one wish for today, what would it be?" This new effort attempts to engage directly with Iranians, inspiring dialogue in a more forthright way. Shamash told the Times of Israel, "At the end of the film, the Israeli interviewees express hope that one day they would solve the political issues between the countries “over a cup of coffee. Hopefully, with Iran’s new president Hasan Rouhani, there will be hope for this ‘coffee cup diplomacy.'"

Spoken word poetry by Andrew Lustig underlined the commonalities between the residents of Iran and Israel saying "I've read of your country and your people and our news for years but it never crossed my mind, you riding on subways. I heard in your country people drink coffee in the morning before work, and that people keep pictures on their desk and in their lockers of loved ones, of celebrity crushes and romantic landscapes, memories and wishes."

One girl commented, "As a Jew, as an Israeli: I want him to know that our people are very similar, and there should never be war or violence between us."

The project explains on its YouTube page:

'One Wish for Iran, Love Israel,' highlights the shared humanity of Israelis and Iranians counterbalancing the conflict that usually defines the countries' relationship. The film uses interviews with people on the street in Israel -- Israeli and Palestinian -- to offer both an olive branch and an invitation for coffee to Iranian citizens. Timed to coincide with the inauguration of Iran's newly elected President, Hassan Rouhani, the film is a proposal for new beginnings between peoples.

The response to the film has been largely positive, both during filming and since its release, as the producers explained, "Everyone we met while filming our second one, One Wish for Iran, Love Israel told us how happy they were to participate, and how much it meant for them to be able to talk to the 'other side.'"

YouTube commenter Flitterflummi exclaimed, "As an Iranian I am deeply touched by this message full of LOVE !! Nobody can destroy anymore, what we have created all together in only one year!!! My dear Israeli friends, WE? LOVE YOU TOO !!! I'd love to hug each and everyone who talks in that video !!!"

Others consider the video as propaganda which will do little to change government policies or Israel's image in many Middle Eastern countries. YouTube commenter Kamrouz Ranjbar, says, "I agree that the Jews, Christians and Muslims should co-exsist and live peacefully together in "Israel," as? Jerusalem and many other major "Israeli" cities share a great rich history for all three religions. However there is much discrimination against Muslims in Israel, the people of Israel are racist and have taken the lands of innocent ones by force. You may show this video for propaganda purposes to win the hearts of my fellow Iranian brothers and sisters, but for me it won't work."

The producers say the idea for this project came from "the Iranian artist, Ali Molavi who inspired this video with a video of his own in which he asked the same beautiful question to fifty people in Tehran, Iran"

The team hopes to create more inspirational videos, developing educational content "devoted to conflict resolution and showing an alternative view of daily life in the Holy Land by amplifying the voices of people on the ground." They are trying to raise money with an IndieGoGo campaign, and they have less than two months to reach their $50,000 funding goal.

The video's opening quote by Iranian poet Hafiz aptly sums up their sentiments towards the people of Israel and Iran, with the sentiment, "Your heart and my heart are very old friends."

For more photos and interview excerpts, check out their Facebook page:

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Subscribe

Barbara Streisand Slams I treat women Jewish Ultra Orthodox in Israel, receives doctorate honoris cause from the Hebrew University

Jerusalem - Actor Barbra Streisand got into one of topics even in Israel on Monday in the first big stop on his tour around the country - Jewish religious practices that separate men and women.

Speaking at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Monday, where received a honorary doctorate, she pointed to cases of ultra-Orthodox Jews targeted women, as well as warmly praised the country.

"I know that it is not easy to fully understand the dynamics of what happens in a foreign country," he said.

But "is painful to read about women are forced to sit in the back of the bus or when we hear of the"women of the wall"Israel have metal chairs them thrown when trying to peacefully and legally pray."

Referred to isolated incidents in which ultra-Orthodox men tried to force women to sit separately in the back of the bus ranging through their neighborhoods, as well as more serious clashes in which ultra-Orthodox Jews tried to prevent women donning prayer shawls and carry the Torah scrolls of pray at the wall of lamentations in Jerusalem, the holiest site where Jews can worship.

According to traditional Orthodox Jewish practice, only men wear prayer shawls and handle rolls of the Torah, although that is changing slowly in some places. Ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are cut off from the rest of society, but have disproportionate power in Government and religious affairs, fear that allowing women to make such advances will erode their authority.

Tzipi Livni israeli Justice Minister has introduced legislation making the forced separation of men and women in public places like buses illegal. With regard to women praying at the Western Wall, a court has upheld the right of women to wear Prayer Shawls, and a proposal has also set aside a section of the Western Wall for the prayers of the genre.

Streisand says pleased to hear that there was hope of evolution. "Repairs are made, and that's very good," he said.

Earlier in the day, the actor met with 20 children with diseases that threaten the life of the "Make-A-Wish" Foundation. Streisand beamed as a teenager sang his song, "People".

"I'm going treasure this," he said. "Is so powerful that in a room with all of you and especially the children who touched my heart."

Streisand visited the University in one of the first stops of his trip to Israel since 1984, receiving a doctorate honoris causes

She spoke at length of his admiration for Israel and the Hebrew University, which opened a building named after his father in 1984 when she donated money for its construction.

"I think it would be very proud to know that this esteemed institution honoring his daughter", said.

It commended the University for graduating a number of female doctoral students record this year, the first time that women composed by a majority of degree recipients.

University officials call the Jewish singer and actor of "friend of Israel" and said that his honorary doctorate was "an opportunity to recognize your support, your friendship, your generosity".

Streisand tour has attracted the attention of the public and the media.

Arrival at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday, with her dog in tow, received prominent media coverage. Streisand, 71, will attend birthday number 90 of israeli President Shimon Peres later in the week before first appearing in it ever concert in Israel on Thursday and Saturday.

Get alerts

Israel Cabinet to vote on the release of Palestinian prisoners before peace talks

Error in deserializing body of reply message for operation 'Translate'. The maximum string content length quota (8192) has been exceeded while reading XML data. This quota may be increased by changing the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader. Line 1, position 8846.
Error in deserializing body of reply message for operation 'Translate'. The maximum string content length quota (8192) has been exceeded while reading XML data. This quota may be increased by changing the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader. Line 1, position 8899.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — In April 1993, Omar Masoud and three accomplices broke into a European aid office in Gaza City, grabbed a young Israeli lawyer working there and stabbed him to death.

Israel arrested Masoud a month later and sentenced him to life, meaning he was doomed to die in prison one day for killing the lawyer in the name of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small PLO faction.

Now Masoud, along with dozens of other long-term Palestinian prisoners, is up for release as part of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's attempt to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks after five years of diplomatic paralysis.

Israel's Cabinet is being asked to approve a prisoner release in principle on Sunday, as part of a Kerry-brokered deal to get the two sides back to the table.

The Cabinet vote would pave the way for a preliminary meeting of Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Washington on Tuesday, followed by up to nine months of talks in the region on setting up a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Such a deal has eluded Israelis and Palestinians for two decades and they have low expectations.

The fate of those held in Israeli jails is an emotionally wrought issue for Palestinians, who view the prisoners as heroes who made personal sacrifices in the struggle for statehood.

A prisoner release – particularly of lifers with "blood their hands" – would go a long way toward giving Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a popular mandate to give talks another shot, even if many Palestinians believe Israel's hardline prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is not serious about a deal.

Israelis tend to view the prisoners as cold-blooded terrorists, and early releases of security prisoners in previous swaps elicited vociferous objections from the public, including Supreme Court appeals.

For Israel's government, approving the release of prisoners it refused to free in the past – even if in stages and linked to progress in talks – poses the most difficult test so far of its professed willingness to reach a peace deal.

In a statement late Saturday, Netanyahu said that a decision to release prisoners is "painful to the bereaved families, painful to the people of Israel and very painful for me."

Yet, he said, prime ministers "are required from time to time to take decisions that are against public opinion - if it is important to the state," signaling he is pushing for Cabinet approval of the release.

Abbas, meanwhile, briefed reporters on the terms of the upcoming negotiations, based on what he said were Kerry's assurances to him. He said the American invitation would state that the talks will be about establishing a Palestinian state next to Israel, based on the 1967 borders and with mutually agreed upon land swaps.

The Palestinians want to set up a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem – lands Israel captured in 1967. In previous negotiations, Abbas offered to trade 1.9 percent of West Bank land for the same amount of Israeli territory, a swap that would enable Israel to keep some of the dozens of Jewish settlements it has built since 1967.

Israeli officials have declined comment on the negotiations. Netanyahu refused in the past to accept the 1967 lines as a starting point, and it's not clear whether his position has changed.

Abbas said the situation would become clearer after Sunday's Cabinet meeting.

A senior Palestinian official said the Palestinians would go to talks without Israel having agreed to a freeze of settlement building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Nearly 600,000 Jews already live there, and thousands of homes are under construction.

In guidelines for the talks requested by the Palestinians, Kerry stipulated earlier this month that both sides have to refrain from unilateral steps, according to the Palestinian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a gag order the U.S. secretary of state slapped on the negotiators.

The Palestinians understand this to mean that Israel will slow down settlement construction and refrain from provocative steps, such as announcing new projects, the official said. The Palestinians, in turn, will suspend plans to seek further recognition at the U.N. General Assembly, which last year recognized a state of Palestine in the 1967 borders. Israel fears further international isolation as a result of Palestinian activity at the U.N.

Abbas has argued he would need either a settlement freeze or Israeli recognition of the 1967 lines as a baseline to be able to resume negotiations.

In Sunday's Cabinet meeting, ministers will be asked to vote on a number of fateful issues, an official in Netanyahu's office said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with briefing regulations.

The ministers will be asked to authorize the resumption of talks with the Palestinians and appoint a team – reportedly the premier and three ministers – to oversee the negotiations.

They will be asked to approve an amended bill that would require a national referendum on any partition deal with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu's decision to fast-track the referendum bill has prompted contradictory speculation. Some say this shows the lifelong hawk is serious about a deal this time and wants to silence opposition by ultra-nationalists in his Likud party and his coalition from the outset. Others suspect he is trying to create new obstacles to any agreement.

The Cabinet ministers would also have to approve, in principle, a release of Palestinian prisoners who were arrested before the start of the so-called Oslo talks on interim peace deals in the early 1990s.

Abbas gave Kerry a list of 104 names, including that of Omar Masoud who is No. 77, ranked by seniority. The two longest-held at the top of the list are cousins Karim and Maher Younis, imprisoned since 1983 for kidnapping and killing an Israeli soldier, Palestinian officials said.

When Israeli media reported last week that Israel would only release 82 and that Palestinians from Israel and east Jerusalem would not be freed, Abbas asked Kerry for clarifications.

The U.S. diplomat gave Abbas to understand that all 104 would be freed, said a Palestinian official, also speaking anonymously to avoid violating Kerry's call for discretion. The prisoners are to be released in four stages over six months, beginning a month after the resumption of talks, the official said.

As of late June, nearly 5,000 Palestinians were being held by Israel.

Masoud's mother, 70-year-old Tamam, said she is optimistic.

"I hope everything will work out between Jews and Arabs," she said, speaking in her shack in the Shati refugee camp. Abbas "took a good step by talking about releasing prisoners," she said.

Omar Masoud's family was evasive when asked about the killing, portraying it as the rash act of an immature youth. A recent prison photo of him showed a balding middle-aged man who his mother says often cooks for other prisoners because of his work experience as a teenager in an Israeli restaurant.

Despite considerable opposition in Israel to prisoner releases, polls indicate a majority support a resumption of peace talks. Yuval Diskin, former head of Israel's domestic security agency Shin Bet, expressed that ambivalence.

He noted that he opposed a 2011 swap in which Israel agreed to free some 1,000 Palestinians for an Israeli soldier held by Gaza militants, but that the upcoming round of talks may be the last chance for a deal.

"We need to understand that the negotiations cart is stuck in very, very deep mud," he told Israel TV's Channel 10 on Friday. "And there are some very painful things that will need to happen in order to get that cart out of the mud."

___

Associated Press writers Ian Deitch and Aron Heller in Jerusalem contributed reporting.

Earlier on HuffPost:

Subscribe