Four strangers, one room, one day, one goal … lasting peace between Palestine and Israel in the Middle East.
- An impossible task?
- An unforgettable, no-holds-barred challenge.
- Do they achieve their task.
- Will anyone listen?
- Will you?
An unique assembly. (58 minutes)
We start a hundred years ago and witness an idea for peace between Jew and Arab in the Middle East that takes a century to unfold. In the present day, five people gather together in a room; a Jew, a Muslim, a Christian, an atheist and a convenor. We witness some initial skirmishes as they explain their reasons for being there. Tensions are in the air.
PREAMBLE ...
In 1929, after an Arab uprising in Palestine, the British rulers of the land instigated an inquiry into the causes, resulting in the Shaw Report, named after Sir Walter Shaw, who led the inquiry. The findings were controversial and did not do justice to all parties. In fact, it all seemed a bit of a fudge. One of the commission’s members, Henry Snell, a Labour politician, certainly felt so. He issued a ‘note of Reservations’, an addendum to the report, listing his disagreements. His summary was that “a few men of both races” should “meet together and explore the possibilities of common effort for agreed ends,” to work towards co-operation in establishing inter-racial justice and goodwill. “Out of their efforts would grow a reserve of understanding,” he proposed, “to unite Arabs and Jews in the task of building up a happy and prosperous land.”
Now, almost a century later, they finally got round to it …