Dreaming of Damascus

Seth Freedman, The Guardian

September 11, 2007 7:00 AM

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/seth_freedman/2007/09/dreaming_of_damascus.html

Israelis making excursions to Syria tend to cocoon themselves in fighter jets in order to get over any apprehension they might have about their own safety. This week was no exception, but, as the pendulum swings from hostility to detente and back again on the political level, the people on the street are less keen on conflict than those who represent them. At least, not if the quartet of artists I met recently in Tel Aviv is anything to go by.

Coming together under the banner of a "peace delegation to Syria", the group has recently returned from a trip to the Syrian embassy in Amman, Jordan, where they applied for entry visas, in the hope of becoming the first Israelis to set foot legally on Syrian soil. Sitting in a local cafe and swigging from bottles of malt beer, the foursome grew more and more animated as they enthused about their mission for rapprochement between the "ordinary folk" on both sides of the divide.

"Our optimism is infectious," declared Chicky, and it appears his assessment is spot on, given the amount of media interest the group's plans have attracted. Members of the delegation were interviewed on national television and managed to convince one of their sceptical hosts that their campaign was far more than the pie-in-the-sky dreaming of starry-eyed youngsters, to the point that he asked if he could accompany them on their journey.

Another member of the group, Ari Libsker, had to overcome resistance from closer to home. "When my father saw us on TV and realised how serious we were, he told me 'you're not my son anymore'," laughed Ari. "But he soon came to terms with it, even comparing me to the legendary Abey Natan."

The Natan comparison is not one that the group take lightly. Natan was an Israeli pilot who made a clandestine flight to Egypt to meet with President Nasser, long before the peace deal between the two countries. His two sorties to Cairo airport met with all kinds of hostility from his fellow countrymen, but he later became viewed as one of the most important peace pioneers of his day. As their eyes blazed with righteous zeal at the thought of becoming modern-day Natans themselves, it was clear that these four trailblazers see their quest as just as essential for peace to occur. And, given the current state of play on a diplomatic level between the two nations, the timing of their message of conciliation could not be better. "War is being pushed every day in the media," said Nimrod Kamer, "so we want to go as soon as possible - it's the most patriotic thing we can do for our country."

The group are less than enamoured with the Israeli leadership's sabre-rattling of late. "Look atBarak's campaign slogan, that he's the best equipped to lead the country to war," complained Chicky. "We don't need leaders like that; we need them to say they're the best equipped to lead the country to peace." According to Ari: "It should have been a good thing we lost the war last summer, because it forces us to come to the negotiating table rather than rely on military might." However, it appears that the still-smarting IDF top brass are now looking for any excuse to flex their military muscle once more and prove their critics wrong, regardless of whether they are acting with the backing of the public.

The four of them don't appear overly concerned about the dangers they could face if they do end up crossing the Syrian border. Syria doesn't have the best track record in hospitality towards Israelis, but the group are sanguine about how they themselves will go down in Damascus. "I'm certain people will be nice to us on a one to one level," said Chicky. "Just as I know people who say they 'hate' Palestinians, but when they actually hang out with Palestinians in Tel Aviv on an individual basis, they get on famously with them."

Crucial to their plans is keeping it real; meeting the people on the street, and not being trapped in the artificial bubble that more official peace delegations often find themselves in. "Other peace groups stay in five star hotels - castles - and so never meet the real people," said Nimrod, "whereas we'll be in five-dinar-a-day hostels, with no barriers to communication." Chicky agreed: "We don't want to be in a sterilised atmosphere, with walls, security guards, and so on, because that only encourages the participants to be afraid."

"People ask us if we're afraid to go," said Ari, "but that's because they have been conditioned to see Syrians as devils. They demonise them even more than they do the Palestinians, because at least they've had contact with Palestinians, so they are forced to see them as human at least."

For all their optimism, the chances of them actually being granted visas by the Syrian authorities have to be viewed as slim. There is no precedent for such a visit, and the chances are that the Syrians have bigger fish to fry at the moment than dealing with a collective of poets and filmmakers trying to make waves in the Damascus backstreets.

However, the mere fact that there are a group of Israelis willing to put their lives on the line to serve their country in a way other than militarily could be just the tonic for those on the Syrian side who have been conditioned to fear Israelis as much as the Israelis fear them. Whether the group become latter-day Abey Natans will depend entirely on the whims of the Syrian visa officials, but - whether they make it or not - there is solace to be taken from their vocal opposition to the road to war that both sides appear determined to march down.

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(group's website: http://syriapeace.blogspot.com)

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