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Washington Report, April 2006, page 70 Waging Peace ICIU Celebrates Israeli and Palestinian Cultures in Des Moines
THE Iowa Council for International Understanding (ICIU) sponsored a “Celebration of Israeli and Palestinian Cultures” in Des Moines on Jan. 22. “We’re working with a large group of community leaders, community organizations, and interfaith groups,” said ICIU International Programs Manager Colin R. Peterson, “to provide an afternoon of music, art, and food, and an opportunity for people to meet on common ground.” The cultural celebration was the first of three designed to help Iowans gain a better understanding of the Middle East, said Don Lambert, a member of the executive committee of the ICIU board of directors. “The second program, coming later this year, will be on the main religions of the Middle East, and then the third will focus on the politics of the region,” said Lambert, who lived and worked in the Middle East for many years and is now active in a number of organizations promoting Middle East understanding. “The idea is to give Iowans a better understanding of the entire region, the whole Middle East,” he explained. Singers Michal Cohen and Dana Awwad performed for a diverse audience of about 100 people. Cohen and her accompanist, Oded Lev-Ari, traveled from New York City to Des Moines for the event. An up-and-coming East Coast vocalist who was born and raised in Israel, she recently participated in Meredith Monk’s Young Artists Concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. Awwad, from Ramallah, Palestine, is pursuing graduate studies at Iowa State University in Ames. She delighted the audience with traditional Palestinian songs. The Des Moines office of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) was one of several local groups to help publicize and facilitate the event. “Historically, these two peoples have so much in common, and it’s helpful to focus on the things we have in common rather than those that set us apart,” said Jeff Weiss, peace education director for the AFSC’s Des Moines office. The ICIU, which for 67 years has worked to promote mutual respect and understanding among Iowans and people from all cultures and countries, administered the event with supporting grants from the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation and Humanities Iowa. Organizations represented on the diverse committee of Des Moines interfaith and social justice groups which helped make the series possible include the Drake Center for Global Citizenship, the Arab American Institute’s Iowa Arab American Leadership Council, the Jewish Community Relations Commission, the Iowa Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action, the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC), the Muslim Community Organization, Church World Service, the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, and the AFSC of Des Moines. —Michael Gillespie |
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