CONSPICUOUS BY THEIR ABSENCE

By Barbara Sofer
Mar. 4, 2004

Can peace come from Hollywood? On a short trip to the United States, I was thinking about the OneVoice peace initiative while the 76th Academy Awards ceremony was playing on what seemed like every TV.

Founded by businessperson Daniel Lubetzky, OneVoice aims at eliciting moderate voices to break through the impasse between Israelis and Palestinians. The participation of movie and TV stars gives it added momentum. We might quarrel with the organization's premise that Israelis and Palestinians are equally immoderate; after all, according to every poll the majority of us were moderate enough to back Ehud Barak's Camp David plan, while until recently every Palestinian poll showed a solid majority supporting bus bombings. Nonetheless, non-coercive attempts at bringing about peace are welcome, be they conventional or unconventional.

With the promise of additional OneVoice celebrities on the way, I'd like to air a peeve about Hollywood. Creative men and women of our Mosaic persuasion play a prominent role there. Take the Oscars. Billy Crystal, one of ours, served as master of ceremonies. Crystal, by the way, supports peace-minded theater educational programs at the Hebrew University.

What troubles me is the conspicuous absence of Hollywood in our lonely country over the last three and a half years of terror. Whatever your opinion of the professional talent and political views of Jane Fonda, Richard Gere, and Whitney Houston, they are among the handful of celebrities who stepped onto the tarmac at Ben-Gurion Airport.

And they are not even Jewish. Jane Fonda took part in demonstrations and a salute to Israeli hospital staff. Richard Gere came to plan a peace-promoting event in 2005. Whitney Houston, along with her husband, singer Bobby Brown, called Israel "home" and made music with musicians in Dimona. Superman star Christopher Reeve, despite his physical challenges, made the long trip here and encouraged those who lost their own mobility. One of the terror survivors he visited is a friend of mine, and Reeve's visit really made a difference. Star Wars queen Natalie Portman (okay, she's from an Israeli family) cheered up hospitalized kids.

BUT WHERE are you, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Jessica Parker, Harrison Ford, Billy Crystal, etc., etc.? Why haven't you arrived to lift the spirits of your beleaguered family by giving concerts, plays, and comedy evenings after every terrorist bombing?

Not every visit has to be a peace initiative. I would have liked photos of all these stars strolling down Ben-Yehuda Street, putting notes in the Kotel, and shaking hands with the prime minister. And if they wanted to whisper a peace plan in the air of Uncle Arik, all the more power to them. But first of all, let them show up.
Last week, Jason Alexander, representing OneVoice, joined the exclusive club of stars who have visited Israel. Jason, next time plan a string of performances for schools, hospitals, and Camp Koby for families of terror victims.

The way I see it, this should have been an easy time for friends of Israel to show empathy; we offered unprecedented concessions to end this conflict. Instead of peace we got terror, and we have endured the worst civilian attacks in our country's history. We have shown remarkable resilience, but no one should underestimate the emotional price. According to Hadassah child psychiatrist Dr. Esti Galili, our children are showing three times the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder of kids who are involved in "normal" traumas like car accidents.

The battlefield has come to us, and frankly it would have been nice to have someone fly in to cheer up the tired troops. Laughter is a wonderful medicine.

The images of Hollywood stars floating in the Dead Sea or shopping in Dizengoff Center would have boosted our economy, and a star-studded Independence Day concert in Sultan's Pool would have boosted morale.

The most memorable concert I ever attended was an impromptu gathering during the Yom Kippur War. Israelis crowded into the Jerusalem Theater to hear Isaac Stern. Talk about playing with heart.
When those who are in celebrated public positions don't use them to stand among their people, it's easy to imagine that not trepidation alone is keeping them away.

Don't we still hold a place in your hearts?
Visitors from abroad can help in another way, too.

Their presence sometimes enables us to appreciate the positives that we have. A visiting friend � not a celebrity � recently remarked on the changes in Israel since her visit four years ago. What struck her? No, not our weariness or the security fence. What surprised her was the new skyline in Tel Aviv. She could not get over how our city on the sand dune had risen in skyscraper confidence even while its citizens faced terrorism.

So welcome, Hollywood. But before you come bearing peace plans, share your talents and your heart and show us you care. Come soon and come often. And Billy � skip the jokes about the Passion. In this town, nothing about that movie makes us smile.