Sitting on the Curb in a Refugee Camp

All this week, I am sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the production of my new public television special, “The Holy Land: Israelis and Palestinians Today.” In this clip, I was sitting on a curb working on my script when a series of cute kids stopped by to see who had dropped into the neighborhood. You’ll see a little of that interaction. It ends with a big brother coming in to shut me down. (I don’t blame him to be wary of some stranger filming little kids on the street.)

By the way, there’s a common image of Palestinian kids with toy guns shooting imaginary Jews. I saw lots of that, and it was a bit disturbing to me. But then, in the Jewish West Bank settlements, I also saw Jewish kids with plastic guns gunning down imaginary terrorists. And it occurred to me that, if we’re being honest, what American man today didn’t grow up with a toy gun happily shooting Indians or Soviets in their imagination? Whether it’s cowboys and Indians, Commies and Capitalists, or Jews and Palestinians, little boys throughout the world are raised with a toy gun in their hands to shoot their parents’ bad guys. That’s what I love about actually traveling in places like Palestine—you see things with a broader perspective than you would if you just stayed home. And that’s the mission with our TV special.

The Holy Land” has already aired to great success on stations in several locations. Many other stations, such as WTTW 11 in Chicago and KCTS 9 in Seattle, are excited to air it soon. Call your local public television station to find out when you can see it too.

Comments

One Reply to “Sitting on the Curb in a Refugee Camp”

  1. Not just boys, girls, too. Growing up I had toy rifles and six-shooters with loads of caps to fire off. All the kids in the neighborhood would play army. Fighting against indians or germans. We thought nothing of “killing” each other. But then we didn’t have the constant threat from the “others” to reinforce that hatred.

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