Thursday, July 24, 2014

WHAT IF.....

I was just watching on TV the opening in Glasgow of the Commonwealth Games. Good will, fellowship, enthusiasm, energy and diversity made the air tingle and a sudden inspiration came to me. Like many of my sudden inspirations, reality hardly intrudes at all. It stays off-stage, talking incomprehensibly to itself.

Anyway I'll write down what this inspiration was, just in case somebody somewhere picks it up and runs with it. Maybe even one of the ten or fifteen people who read my blog. What do you think? Does it stand a chance?

WHAT IF..... 

there was

a hugely funded 

sporting event

held in a suitable or purpose-built location

in which Israeli and Palestinian children and teenagers

would peaceably compete and cooperate

and thousands of spectators attend and applaud.

The enormous funds needed, including paying qualified coaches to train the young people on both sides could come from two sources:

a) crowd-funding: donations by the world-wide public via a website.

b) wealthy individuals, companies and institutions invited to subscribe.

A rigorously selected impartial, independent, non-political group would be formed to administer, organise the event and allocate the funds, all aspects to be completely transparent and every penny accounted for.


9 comments:

Adam said...

That would be heaven! How shall we make it happen?

If we keep talking with each other and ask others to talk, can we start something? I'm going to use a little blog I made to talk about it, although I'm not sure anyone is listening yet! We can but try ...

I've already lost one friend over this! An American, who thought I was out to ruin Israel. Well, too bad, I could not make him hear any word against them.

He was enormously inflamed over my quoting Al Jazeera, who I watch carefully but think they report well. He thought AJ is the work of the devil (yes he is one of these burning Christians).

Do you read/watch or listen to Al Jazeera, do you think they are, if not quite unbiased, at least reporting reasonably? (As best as one can ...)

Hattie said...

Natalie: I am surprised that so many believe that Palestinians are ignorant peasants who hate the Jews. I think an event such as the one you suggest would dispel such notions. I get my news from the conflicts through Democracy Now. Just saw an interview with a Palestinian doctor who is in Gaza,talking about the awful conditions as bombs went off behind him.

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Hi Adam, very glad you share my 'inspiration'. How to make it happen is way beyond my capabilities and I don't have enough of an audience to even let people hear the idea. Facebook, Twitter and all the social media would be the way to start, I suppose, but I don't use any of the, Maybe you do?
Yes, Al-Jazeera is good for news. Unfortunately ignorance, paranoia and wrong information leads some people to believe that anything beyond their four walls is 'work of the devil'. Sigh.

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Hattie, the article by Mira Bar-Hillel refers to the fact (she knows as she was brought up there) that school children in Israel are not taught Arabic and that Israelis in general (though not all of them) do not interact socially with Arabs, even those who live in Israel. They simply do not know or wish to know anything about their neighbours or about Arab culture and history. The same fact applies to so many people in America (like the friend Adam mentioned above) who are persuaded that Arabs - and anybody who is different from themselves - is evil. Same spirit that created Apartheid in S.Africa and so on and on...and on!

Hattie said...

It is such a great pity, because where if not there could people of different cultures come together in understanding?
Taking a very long historical perspective, it could have worked, but now it is probably too late.

Anonymous said...

You had me until that last line.

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Peter, why did the last line put you off? Please explain!

Adam said...

So, now, there is sign of a change and a hint that this may halt, with international outcry over Israel's actions.

Your voice and mine have contributed (in small part!) to that outcry, Natalie.

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Adam, a temporary lull, yes, thankfully. But a major change? I doubt it but let's try and be optimistic.